


An Inkling's Adventure

by ARandomInterloper



Series: Life in Inkopolis [1]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 19:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 28,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16181372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARandomInterloper/pseuds/ARandomInterloper
Summary: After DJ Octavio breaks free from his snowglobe prison, a new hero is needed to save Inkopolis





	1. The Beginning

This is my first attempt at a fanfiction, so I apologize if it isn't great. I welcome any criticism as I wish to improve myself. I hope you enjoy it regardless.

****

It was a quiet summer night in Octo Valley, not a soul was stirring, except for two. One was an elderly Octarian DJ trapped in a snowglobe for stealing the Great Zapfish in an attempt to conquer Inkopolis, the other was a purple-haired Inkling boy who was assigned to make sure he doesn't come out.

"Come on…Come on…" The DJ thought to himself as he silently eyed the Inkling.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, the Inkling was tired from hours of guard duty and was slumped against the wall, on the verge of falling asleep.

"Ugh…Cap, Three, where are you? An Inkling should not be…huuuaaaaaaa…staying up this late…" He kept yawning as he wondered how Cuttlefish managed to stay up at times like this.

"Come ooooooooonnnnnn…" The DJ prayed the guy would finally fall asleep.

About 10 minutes later, his eyes finally shut. Snoring came soon after.

"Bingo!" The DJ silently cheered as he readied his escape.

*A short while later…*

"Heeeuuaaaaa…huh?" The Inkling awoke. "What the heck!?" The squid frantically looked around only to notice the globe had been shattered. "No, no, no! Beth is gonna kill me for this!"

He grabbed his Splattershot and raced to the nearest Kettle. "He couldn't have gotten far," he thought to himself trying to forget that the DJ could break out and kidnap both the captain and the Zapfish in a matter of minutes. He dove through the first kettle he saw, hoping to find that geezer.

*3 days later…*

Sarah had just gotten back to the plaza after a long day at Grizzco. She walked over the window to pick up her bonus.

"The heck is this?" she wondered, eyeing over what looked like a coffee shop uniform. "Eh, whatever. I'll keep it." She stuffed it in her bag.

She was about to get something from the Crust Bucket when something caught her eye. Someone was standing there in a kimono, face obscured by an umbrella.

"Okay, she's been there a while now. What's her deal?" She asked herself as the mysterious lady disappeared down a manhole when she got close.

"Hey, wait!" She yelled out before chasing her down the pipes.


	2. Chapter 2

*Sarah's POV*

I finally came out the other side and that weirdo from the plaza was standing there next to a small shack in…wait…where are we? This isn't Inkopolis. It seems to be some kind of Canyon or something.

"Hey…you showed up!" My attention instantly went back to kimono girl.

"As soon as I saw you walking in the square, I knew you were the one."

Was I?

"I'm Marie. I know you're a bit starstruck, but I need you to get over it."

Wait…who?

"Yes, I'm that Marie. You know…from the Squid Sisters." She said while striking a pose.

"Ummmm…the Who Sisters?" I finally spoke.

"You've never heard of me? For eel?" She seemed genuinely shocked.

"Well, you obviously aren't very cultured, but you have to do." Geez. I know I grew up in what's considered the boonies, but I didn't think we were that far removed from Inkopolis culture.

"Soooo…what'cha want, uh…Marie?" I'd just recalled her name.

"See, I've got a little…thing I need some help with." Is she offering me a job? Bet it's not as important as my Grizzco job.

"By now you've heard that the Great Zapfish that powers Inkopolis Square is missing." Or maybe it's more important.

"Well, it's not just missing-it's been squidnapped by the Octarian menace!" Wait. Those guys who lost the Great Turf War a century ago? I mean, I read about them, but I didn't think they still existed, let alone be able to take the Zapfish.

"Wait, how do you know this?" I asked.

"On the surface, I may just look like and absurdly talented pop star…" And humble too. Then again, who am I to talk?

"But in truth…I'm Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, a secret society of heroes who save the world from Octarians!" Not really keeping it a secret if you let anyone come down here, but who am I to judge? I'm terrible at secrets too.

"I've been trying to keep an eye on them in my downtime, but I'm a busy girl." I think I know where this is going…

I could swear I heard her mumble something about someone named Callie. Maybe that was the other Sister or something.

"I need YOU to get the Great Zapfish back from those slimy Octarians! What do you say? Are you in?"

I mean, I'd love to! I bet I could give those Octos what for! They won't know what hit 'em!

"Ahem."

But how do I balance this with turfing? I can't join an actual team one day if I'm down here doing this all day…

"Soooooooooo…"

Aw man! And my Grizzco job! What If I miss a shift or five? Will Mr. Grizz demote me?

No! I can do this! I can get back to Profreshional easy! I cook Salmon for breakfast! I can do this!

"I'll take your awkward silence as a yes."

"Huh? I mean, yeah! Of course I will!" I finally responded.

"Then welcome aboard! You are now Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon." Wait, who are the other agents?

She held out a uniform. "I even bought you a brand-new Hero Suit as a signing bonus." It looked really fresh. I tried it on. "And look at that-it fits like a glove! (Not bad for an old hand-me-down.)"

I heard that last part you cheapskate, but who cares? Fresh gear!

"Now, go tear those Octarians limb from limb from limb from limb from limb from-Well…you get the picture."

"Yeah!" I shouted as I charged forward past her. Now where are those octos? Let me at 'em! Uuuuhhh…wait…where do I go?

"Hey, Marie?" I called out. "Where are the octos?"

"Down the kettles!" She yelled back

"What kettles?" I couldn't see any.

"Oh yeah-they're invisible, so you'll have to ink them to reveal them" She's already forgetting to tell me important stuff.

"Thank you." I sprayed ink until all kettles were revealed.

"Which one do I go in first?" I wondered.

"It doesn't really matter. There's a Zapfish in all of them." She answered back.

"Alright then, time to-wait, aren't you coming too?" I asked her.

"I have to keep an eye on the cabin." She told me. "But don't worry; I'll be sure to give you guidance through your headset."

Pretty sure that was code for 'I'm lazy,' but I guess someone has to do this and I'm sure I can!

"Well…here goes nothing…" I picked a kettle and dove in.

And so, My adventure began.


	3. Chapter 3

*Hours Passed…*

*Sarah's POV*

"This guy's toast!" Marie cheered.

"Please tell me that's the last bread pun." I begged.

"It will be…at yeast for a while." Marie cheekily replied.

"Great. Now I'm hungry." I remembered I was about to go to the Crust Bucket before following Marie over here.

"Come back to the cabin." Marie said. "I'll make you something."

"Is Marie a good cook?" I wondered before my growling stomach ended that thought.

Never mind. I'm starving.

I grabbed the Zapfish and headed back.

*A minute later…*

I walked back to the cabin to find Marie had placed a small sandwich and soda can on the bench next to her.

"Thanks Marie-wait, are you not eating?" I asked.

"I got hungry watching you fight the oven, so I already ate." Eh, who wouldn't?

"OH MAN THIS IS SO COOL!" I had just realized Sheldon from the weapons shop was here.

"Uh, what's crab-man doing here?" Seriously, I like Ammo Knights and all, but why was that loudmouth here?

"I figured it was time to call in the big guns, so I called Sheldon here to help out." Marie answered.

"And I just finished my Ammo Knights Enhancifier! Now you can upgrade your weapons!" He gleefully cheered.

"All right!" I cheered back. "I mean, this Splattershot Marie gave me is great and all, but it could really use an upgrade."

"Give it a try!" Sheldon urged me. "It'll only take a few minutes to upgrade."

I placed My Splattershot inside and sat down to eat my sandwich.

"Well, look at that. It's almost closing time at the shop." Sheldon said. "I'll be back tomorrow with more weapons for you to use."

"Bye Sheldon." Marie said.

I couldn't speak due to the food in my mouth, so I just waved him goodbye.

About a minute passed before Marie broke the silence.

"So, what did you think of your first day?" she asked

"Eh, wasn't too bad I guess." I answered. These Octarians are kind of pushovers."

"Well, it'll only get harder from here," Marie informed me, "So be ready."

"I'm always ready!" I bragged.

"Heh, you're confident. That's for sure." Marie noticed. "Just don't let the Octotroopers' wimpy-ness go to your head."

"I won't." I assured her.

Another minute passed.

"So you were a pop star?" I asked.

"I still am." She replied. "I'm just on vacation…or I was until this happened. Now I'm taking a break until this Octarian business is solved."

"You said you were from the 'Squid Sisters,' right? Who's the other sister?" I wondered.

"Callie. And she's my cousin." She clarified. "Squid Cousins just doesn't roll off the tongue as well."

"So…where's she?"

Marie fell silent.

"Uh…Marie?" She seemed sad. "Are you okay?"

"I-it's getting late, and I see you've finished your meal." She question-dodged. "Why don't you turn in for the day?"

"Oh, uh, okay." Honestly I could fry some octopus for a little longer, but it was getting late.

"Just leave your uniform here and I'll see you tomorrow."

After returning the uniform, I waved her goodbye before diving back into the manhole back to Inkopolis. I couldn't help but wonder though, what happened between her and Callie? That girl seems like she's dealing with a lot of problems. I'll try talking to her again tomorrow. For now though, I a shower.

*Elsewhere…*

A DJ was practicing a sure-to-be-a-hit new song cover with his lovely new assistant when he was suddenly interrupted by an octotrooper coming in.

"Lord Octavio!" The Octotrooper saluted. "I have a report from Tentakeel Outpost!"

"This'd better be good!" DJ Octavio growled. "I'd hate it if you barged in here and stopped my beats for nothin'."

"Unfortunately not good news, sir." Sweat was forming on his head. "All the Zapfish in Tentakeel Outpost are gone and the Octoboss has been destroyed."

"Which Octoboss was it?" A figure next to Octavio asked.

"The Octo-Oven ,Miss." The trooper replied.

"Wait, you actually built that thing?!" Octavio asked, surprised. "I designed that as a joke!"

"And clearly it was since it's destroyed." The figure added.

"Can it!" Octavio grumbled. "Now, who destroyed it? Tell me it's not that slimy little hipster, Agent 3 again."

"Eyewitness reports of the suspect's appearance don't match that of Agent 3, sir." The trooper stated. "We believe it is a new agent."

"New blood, eh?" Octavio seemed intrigued. "Tell me the next Octoboss is better than the oven."

"Suction-Cup Lookout has been placed under the watchful eye of the honorable Octo Samurai, sir."

"Well then, we've got no problems." Octavio confidently stated. "You may leave now."

"Yes Sir!" The trooper took his leave.

"Are you sure Octo Samurai will be enough?" The figure asked. "After all, Agent 3 took out the Great Octoweapons by herself."

"Hah! That inksquirt only beat 'em because they weren't ready!" Octavio chuckled. "Octonozzle couldn't even walk around yet!"

"…Right." The figure responded.

"Hey! Never doubt a fan of yours, girl!" Octavio Assured. "I'm tellin' ya there's no way that brat's making it out of there alive!"

The figure grinned.

"By the end of this, we'll have two wannabe agents held up in Slimeskin." She started giggling. "Three once we get our hands on Marie!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Octavio cheered. "Now let's drop some spicy wasabi beats!"


	4. Chapter 4

*Sarah's POV*

I'd just gotten out the shower and yes! My phone's charged! I wonder if anyone called…

"You have-6-new messages." Aw man. Let's see who called.

The messages played out:

Message 1: "Hey sis, I heard you're finally on your way to Inkopolis! Give me a shout when you get to the station!"

Uh oh…

Message 2: "Hey, it's me again. It's been a day since my last call and I see you haven't called yet. Trains can be slow though, so I figured I'd just head over to the station and meet ya there. See you soon!"

Oh dear…

Message 3: "Hey, um, Sarah? Is the train running late or did you miss it? Well, I guess there'll be more trains. I'll just keep waiting."

Oh no…

Message 4: "Ello there love. You've totally just won the Inkopolis lottery you did. Please call back and leave us your name, e-mail, social security number, credit card number, and bank account number, and we'll send your money straight to you we will. Cheers!"

Wait, what?

Message 5: "Hey, it's getting late, so I'm just gonna turn in for the night. I'll try calling back tomorrow."

Oh, okay then…

Message 6: "Hey again, it's me. So mom and dad said you did get on the train, they waved you goodbye and everything. That was 2 days ago. Should we be worried? I know it's easy to get caught up in all the amazing stuff here, Cod knows I did, so I'm going to wait one more day before filing a missing person's report. Try to call back soon. See ya! (Hopefully)"

Oh no! Otis! I completely forgot! I need to call him back!

I immediately dialed his number.

"heeeaaauaallo?" He yawned. "Who's this?

"Hey Otis! It's me! I'm sorry!" I frantically apologized.

"S-Sarah?" he groggily asked. "Where ya been?"

"Sorry, I completely forgot! I'm so, so, so, so sor-"

"Hey now, it's fine." He assured me. "I know how easy it is to get distracted your first time here. If anything, you gave mom and dad a bigger scare than me."

"Sorry." I apologized again.

"You don't need to be sorry." He reassured. "I'll call mom and dad back and tell them you're alright and you can tell me everything at the café in Inkopolis square in the morning."

"Okay! What time?" I asked.

"Uhhh…10:00?" He suggested.

"Isn't that a little early?" I was surprised he suggested that time.

"Right, right." He agreed. "11:15"

"Alright!" I said. "Meet you there!"

After we both hung up, I brushed my beak, put on ma jammies, made sure my favorite shows were recording, and crashed into bed. Sleep came soon after.

*In the morning…*

"Ugh, what time is it?" I looked over to my clock. 10:40. Perfect!

I quickly got out of bed, brushed my beak, and ran out the door.

I then quickly came back in because squids who run into cafés in their jammies with no money are the opposite of fresh.

After changing and grabbing my wallet, I ran out the door again.

Bus was taking forever, so I super-jumped instead, arriving in Inkopolis Square in no time at all! I entered the café at exactly 11:15. Perfect! Now where's Otis?

I scanned the café I mostly saw Jellies, some Inklings, and a shady-looking Urchin on a laptop. They have free Wi-Fi here? Sweet! Oh yeah, Otis. Let's see…I know I'm looking for yellow hair and red eyes same as mine. He probably has my tan too. Last time I saw him, he had his hair tied back, sooo….

"Hey!" An inkling boy sitting in a booth waved.

I walked over to get a closer look.

Red eyes: Check

Yellow hair-color: Check.

He changed his hair though. Now he has that slicked back, spiky hair look that seems to be popular now.

"Otis?" I had to make sure.

"Yup." He smiled.

"Oh my Cod!" I sat down in the booth. "Last time I saw you, you had different hair!"

"And the last time I saw you, I couldn't tell where your face ended and your hair began." He cheekily replied.

"So what've you been up to?" I asked. He's been gone for 2 years after all and barely visited.

"Eh, mostly ink battling with my friends." He said. "That and my MakoMart job."

"Nice!" I added. "Gotta make that money."

"But enough about me." Here it comes. "What've you done so far? Why haven't you called?"

"Umm…well…" How do I respond? I'm pretty sure I can't tell him about the agent stuff. May as well start with the other stuff.

"See, I heard this amazing song on the train ride over. It was called 'Ebb and Flow' from 'Off the Hook' and it was the best thing I've ever heard, so first thing I did was buy a music player with headphones and one of their albums and then I was broke." That was embarrassing to admit.

We were then interrupted by a waitress asking what we'd like. I ordered the sweet rolls with sea cow milk. He got the same, but with an expresso.

"Then what happened?" he asked.

Well, I was down on my luck until I saw an ad that said 'Down on your luck? Need money? Come to Grizzco!' so I did." I explained. "Mr. Grizz must've seen potential in me because I was hired on the spot!"

"I've been there before." He said. "It's alright, but the boss is a little too shady for my liking."

"Well, thanks to him, I'm not living on the streets, so I like him." I added.

"So where are you staying?" He wondered.

"Flounder Heights." I answered.

"Really?" He seemed confused. "How've I not run into you yet? I guess it doesn't matter now. That still doesn't explain why you haven't called though."

"Oh yeah, I played a ton of phone games on the trip here and that pretty much drained the battery a lot." I remembered. "Then after my Grizzco shift, it was completely dead. I left it in my apartment to charge."

"Ah." I could tell he understood.

"Yeah…" I still felt guilty for not calling.

"So…ya play any Turf yet?" He asked, clearly wanting to change the subject as much as I did.

"Yeah!" I replied. "I'm already rank 9!"

"Wow." He was impressed. "You'll be able to play ranked soon."

"Yesss!" I was excited. "You play ranked?"

"I do." He leaned back. "For fun though. I don't care about ranking up too much."

"Well, that'll just make being the best easier!" I boasted.

"Sarah, I love ya," He leaned in, staring me right in the eye. "But you've got a long way to go before you can step up to me." His face was completely serious. "I've got 2 years of experience over you y'know."

I was actually feeling a little intimidated. Was this really Otis?

He stared in silence for five more seconds before he grinned and cracked up laughing. Yep, that's Otis. I couldn't help but chuckle too.

The moment right after, our food and drinks came and we dug right in.


	5. Chapter 5

*5 minutes Later…Otis's POV*

"-and I got up in such a hurry, that I almost came here in my jammies!" Sarah laughed. "Can you imagine how un-fresh I would've looked?"

"What's un-fresh is the fact that you still call them jammies." I can't believe she still does that. "What're ya, five?"

"Hey, I can call them whatever I want! You can't stop me!" She was making that 'you can't change my mind' pouty face again. Some things never change.

"Alright, just don't come crying to me when people call you a dork." I said, rolling my eyes.

The pouty face got worse. I think it's time to change the subject.

"Hey, wanna play some Turf?" I asked. "I'd love to see you in action."

Her face immediately brightened up.

"Heck yeah!" That got her excited. "I can't wait to use my new inkbrush!"

"My little sister's a brush user, eh?" That's intriguing. "That'll be interesting to-"

Her phone started ringing.

"Hold on, I gotta take this." She said.

"Alright." I took another sip of my drink.

"You?" She brought her voice down, clearly not wanting me to hear.

"How'd you-I don't remember giving you this number…" That caught my attention.

"Right now? Seriously?" Who's she talking to?

"O-okay, I'll be right there." She hung up.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Something important came up. We'll have to turf later." She said, clearly hiding something.

"Uh…okay…bye, I guess." I said, suspicious.

She then ran out. I walked over to the door to see where she ran off to. She was going to the other side of Deca Tower. I walked out the door to get a better look. She was talking to someone next to the weapons shop. Who was she talking to? It almost looks like…no, she'd never hang out in a place like this. And in those clothes…Yeah, must be someone else, right?

"Hey!" That caught my attention. It was an annoyed jelly. "You forgot to pay your bills!"

"Oh, right. Sorry" I walked back in. Great, Sarah. Not only do you leave under mysterious circumstances, but you leave me to pay for both of our meals. Sarah, when I catch you, you'll have a lot of explaining to do.

By the time I got back out, both Sarah and the mysterious squid were gone. Sarah, where the shell did you run off to?

*Sarah's POV*

"Marie, you owe me bigtime!" I said, annoyed.

"Why? Did I interrupt something?" She asked?

"Oh, not much, I was just hanging out with my brother who I've barely seen in two years!" I nearly yelled out.

"Oh…um…sorry…" She couldn't look me in the eye.

I sighed. "It's fine, I'm just going to have to come up with a good excuse for leaving out of the blue like that."

"I can relate to your, um, situation." She told me. "I'll make it up to you…promise. But for now, we've got work to do."

"R-right!" What did she mean by that anyway?

*Hours later…*

Alright, one more kettle to go before the boss Kettle opens. I sure hope there aren't any more Octohurlers because those were just…ew. I braced for the worst and dove down the kettle.

So far the stage hazards were more dangerous than the Octarians themselves. I honestly don't understand why Marie couldn't have done this herself. I then arrived on the other side. I saw…inklings? Wait, no. Their tentacles are different. Also I've never seen anyone dress like…that.

"Octolings!" Marie yelled. "And they're guarding Mini-Zapfish. Apparently eight of them have the power of one normal Zapfish"

"Wait, what? What's an Octoling?" I've never heard the term before.

"Basically they can do everything you can do." Marie explained. "Be prepared for a fight!"

"Marie, I can tell ya one thing. They can't do everything I can do." I boasted. "This'll be just like Turf Wars!"

"Love the enthusiasm." Marie added. "But they say pride cometh before downfall."

"Right, right." I rolled my eyes. "I'll be careful."

I quickly inked a path and swam through to where I was above the nearest Zapfish. A single Octoling was guarding it. I threw a bomb, landing just past the Octoling. It-she noticed and quickly swam away from the blast…right into me.

*Splat*

Her ghost flew off into the distance. So this was like Turf Wars. Cool. Unfortunately, the others seem to have taken notice of that. Soon enough, three more came my way. I quickly dove into my ink to catch them by surprise.

As they searched the area, I could get a better look at them. What was up with those shades? With the one red eye look, they look like they came off the 'Splatinator' poster.

Unfortunately that thought was cut off when one of them said "Ink the area! Find that Agent!" The others quickly started spraying ink all over the places I did.

Carp! I needed to think fast. One came close to where I was hiding.

"Well," I thought, "it's now or never."

I quickly jumped out of the ink, catching one by surprise. I smacked the weapon out of her hand and knocked her down. I turned and splatted one of her buddies. I then grabbed the unarmed Octoling and shoved her toward the third one. As they collided, I let my ink fly, splatting both of them.

"That was close." Marie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," I said. "But it wasn't too hard. I'm sure the others will be a piece of cake."

"Hey," Marie said. "I just thought of another baking pu-uh oh…"

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I-I'm going to have to call you back." The radio then went silent.

"Agent 2?"

No answer…

"Agent 2?"

Still nothing…

"Marie?"


	6. Chapter 6

(Some Time Earlier…Otis's POV)

"Sarah? Sarah!" I called out for the umpteenth time.

Where was she? Grizzco was closed, so she wasn't there. I didn't see her name in any of the Turf War lists and she can't do ranked yet. I checked all the nearby stores-well, except for Ammo Knights, but I doubt she'd have the time to listen to Sheldon talk her ear off. Worth a try anyway I guess. I went in.

"Hello, hello! What kind of weapon are you in the market for?" Sheldon gleefully asked.

"Um-sorry, no weapon today, Sheldon." I could tell my answer disappointed him. "I-I'm looking for my sister. Have ya seen her?"

"Uh…what's she look like?" His head was turned and he squinted his eyes.

"Like me, but a little shorter and different hair." I answered. "She also loves brushes if that helps."

Sheldon had his head lowered and his eyes were darting around a bit. Did he know something, or was that just what he looks like when he's seriously thinking about something?

"Uuuuuuuuhhhh…nope!" He quickly answered. "Not since the last time she was here!"

"Which was…" I squinted my eyes at him.

"Th-the other day! W-when she bought her inkbrush." He said.

"Oh, right…" I sighed in disappointment. "Wait, you remember her buying a weapon the other day?"

"Of course!" Sheldon gleefully answered. "I make it my duty to remember my customers' faces and their weapon preferences to give them the best service possible! Like my Grandpappy always said, you can tell a lot about squids by the weapons they wield! Like just the other day this one Inkling came in asking for a new Bamboozler and I could tell by that and his gear that he was an enthusiast for Great Turf War era-"

I left before he could finish since I was clearly wasting my time in there. Let's see…She was outside of ammo Knights when I last saw her…Of course! Judd! I walked over to the napping cat.

"Heya Judd!" I called out.

"Zzzzz…" The lazy cat snored.

"Juuuuuudd!" I shook him a little.

Still nothing. You've gotta be kidding me.

"Meow (Need something?)" Li'l Judd asked.

"Oh, hi Li'l Judd." I answered. "Did you see where my sister went? She looks like me, but shorter and has different hair. She was talking to someone holding an umbrella next to Ammo Knights a while ago."

"Meow (Well, Judd doesn't like me prying in other people's business…)" the little kitten said. "Meow (But I do know what you're talking about.")

"Well?" I eagerly asked. "Can you tell me?"

He looked down to see if Judd was still sleeping. He was. "Meow (I'll tell you, but you have to do something for me in exchange).

"What?" What could possibly want from me?

"Meow (I want you to scratch my ears after you're done).

"Why?" I asked.

"Meow (Because Judd likes to go on and on about how his old owner used to scratch his ears). He explained. "Meow (So I want to know if they're worth raving about).

"Okay," I agreed. "Deal!"

"Meow (They went down there)." He pointed to a manhole next to the weapons shop.

"Alright!" I cheered. "Thanks Li'l Judd."

"Meow (No problem)." He waved goodbye as I dove into the manhole.

A minute later…

I was finally on the other side. Where was this? It seemed like some kind of canyon or something. I saw a cabin and took a look. No one was there. I walked around and saw these…tea kettles? I could probably dive into them and look. They all had a sticker on them that said "Done." I could tell that meant they weren't there. I saw a Launchpad. Maybe they went that way…well, here goes…

I landed, still having no idea where I was. I walked a little further to see that figure holding an umbrella in the distance.

"Hey," She said. "I just thought of another baking pu-uh oh…" She saw me.

"Hey!" I ran after her.

"I-I'm going to have to call you back." She held the umbrella in front of her. I couldn't get a good look.

"S-stay back," She ordered. "Or I'll use my brella!"

I kept my distance, not wanting to get splatted. Something was off though…

"That's just a regular umbrella." I pointed out.

Right after I said that, she bolted in the other direction. I ran after her. She was surprisingly fast, but fortunately for me her outfit and shoes weren't made for running. After a few minutes, I was finally able to tackle her to the ground.

"Alright, you better tell me where Sarah is right now or you'll be…you'll be…" I saw her face.

"Marie?" I realized who I just chased down. "Of the Squid Sisters?" I released her.

"I-I can explain." She said.

"Oh Cod, I'm sorry!" I quickly apologized. "I can't believe I just attacked Marie from the Squid Sisters!"

"Ummm…you okay?" She seemed weirded out.

"I should be asking you that!" I stated.

"I'm fine." She said, clearly even more weirded out.

I took a deep breath to calm down.

"Where is my sister?" I was able to regain my focus.

"It's…complicated." She sighed. "Let me explain from the beginning."


	7. Chapter 7

(Sarah's POV)

"Marie, what's going on? Carp!" I said to no one. What's going on? "Guess I'll just have to find out after this mission."

I continued on. I saw two Octolings were marching around one of the Zapfish. One spotted me. I threw a bomb, splatting one while the one who saw me charged forward, spraying ink everywhere. I jumped back and retreated in my ink trail. She threw a bomb my way. I jumped forward. The bomb's blast propelled me forward while spraying ink all over my back. It stung badly, but I caught her off guard, unloading my splattershot and splatting her. After that, the Zapfish was mine.

"Nice moves!" A mysterious voice said.

I looked up to see there were two more Octolings, but their hair was black and had…seaweed in it? One was wearing the same shades as the others while the other had these weird-looking goggles on.

"Thanks!" Confidently thanked whoever said that. "Be honest, is this really your army's best? Because I've seen better enemy fighters in my best Turf War matches."

"Not even close, hon." The shades-wearing one smirked. "How about I give you a taste?"

She immediately did a Splashdown. I got out of the way just in time. She wielded a cool-looking brush.

"Aw man, I didn't know we could bring brushes!" I grinned. "Maybe you can wait here while I get mine?"

"Nope, not happening!" She swung her brush around like a mad squi-octopus.

She put her brush down and charged at me. I retreated in my ink trail, but she was a much faster runner than I was a swimmer. I jumped out and fired, but she dodged my shots easily.

"You're good!" I had to admit.

"Of course, hon" She bragged. "Nothing less from the elite!"

"Elite?" I asked. "Is that what that goofy seaweed is for?"

"Black hair and seaweed are in indicator of rank!" She sounded insulted. "The fact that you don't know that only showcases your ignorance."

She started swinging again. I kept moving, but she was fast. I kept getting hit. I threw a bomb at her, but she smacked it back with her brush. What is this, baseball? It burst in my face. Before I knew it, I was grabbed and thrown face-first into the ground. Geez, is this what Elite Octos are like? I turned my head. She had her brush raised; about to strike, she swung down as I quickly turned my body around, pointed my Splattershot, and unloaded everything.

*Splat*

Her ghost flew off into the distance.

That was too close.

I was panting heavily.

My hearts were pounding in my chest.

After a few seconds, I got up and turned to see the other Elite Octoling hadn't moved. She just smirked and walked off. What was her deal?

Once I got a hold of myself, I went off to find the other Zapfish. Splat after splats, these Octolings were a fair challenge, but not nearly as nightmarish as that Elite was. Every time I encountered one, I could swear I saw that goggles-wearing Elite in the corner of my eye. Before I knew it, I had six.

*Splat*

Okay, make that seven. I could see the glow of the last one in the distance. As I made my way over I saw it was…moving? Carp, more Octolings!

One rushed me while the other one attacked from above. I threw a bomb down and jumped back. The blast knocked the overhead attacker back while the other one dodged and charged me. I dodged her shots and fired.

*Splat*

The other Octoling was on the ground a bit disoriented, but slowly getting back up. Then, a thought came to my mind as I made my way toward her.

"So, are there any Octoling guys?" I asked. "So far all I've seen are gals. Is Octo Canyon a military boarding school or what?"

"Inkling scum!" She growled as she turned to shoot.

*Splat*

"Maybe so, but that doesn't answer my question." I remarked as her ghost floated off.

Now where's the-Zapfish glow…is…moving again?

I quickly ran after it, turning corner after corner.

After another turn, the glow stopped moving. I slowly made my way around the corner to find that Elite Octoling again, hunched over with her back turned, holding the Zapfish. I raised my weapon.

"Freeze!" I ordered.

She stayed still. I walked closer.

"Well done, you caught me." She said, back still turned. "And you took out all those other soldiers. You're the real deal."

"I'll be taking that Zapfish now." I said in my best commanding tone.

"You want it; you'll have to-EARN IT!" She quickly spun around; Dualie in her left hand, Zapfish in her right, only to find my Splattershot in her face.

"Heh." She smirked again, dropping her weapon. "Very well. Just let me get a good look at you."

"Huh?" I was confused.

She used her free hand to remove her goggles, letting them fall to the ground. Her eyes were blue and had rings around them rather than the black mask that Inklings do. She looked at me right in the eye.

"I'm Cassandra. Cass for short." She told me. "What's your name?"

"I'm Agent 4" I replied.

"I knew that, I meant your name." She seemed genuinely curious.

"Okay then, my name is Sarah." I finally said. "Now why'd you take your goggles off?"

"I just wanted to get a good look at the new blood." She stated. "You seem like you can handle yourself."

"Thanks?" I guess she's the honorable warrior type. "Um, the Zapfish?"

"Right." She sighed. "But first, a handshake." She held her hand out.

"May we meet again some time on the battlefield." She said with a warm smile on her face.

"Oh, um…okay." I reached my free handout to shake hers.

Huh, I heard of steel-tipped shoes, but steel-tipped gloves…wait. Why's there a wire attached to her glove? I looked at her.

Her warm smile turned into a sadistic grin. She squeezed the Zapfish in her arm and it sent out a bolt of electricity. I was immediately shocked in more ways than one.

The pain was unbearable. I couldn't stop screaming. Finally, she let go of my hand and I fell to the ground.

I was lying on my side.

I couldn't move.

My body kept twitching while I could see sparks between my fingers.

I could barely keep my eyes open.

"FFFFFFFAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She started laughing hysterically.

"Oh, Octo! Oh my Cod!" She was catching her breath. "That was priceless!" Are all Inklings this stupid, or is it just you?"

I couldn't say anything.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" She yelled while sending a kick straight to my face.

As if I wasn't in enough pain…I think my nose was-yup, it was bleeding…

"Are ya listening?" She asked. "Answer me!"

I still couldn't say anything. I just nodded my head.

"Good." I could tell she was grinning. "Alright, fall in!"

I heard the footsteps of more Octolings come closer. Carp, there were still more of them?

"Is this seriously the best Marie could do?" She knew who sent me. "What a joke."

"Let me tell you something, kid." She started. "There's gonna be a war. And you're gonna lose."

That wasn't true…Right?

"If you had trouble against us, there's no way you'd be able to beat Octo Samurai." She kept going. "Because you're a weak, gullible, pathetic, sorry excuse for an agent that'll never amount to anything. You just make me sick looking at you. You see the black hair? You see the seaweed? That means I'm an Elite! That means I'm of a higher class! That means I'm above a lowlife like you! I'll always be better than you!"

I couldn't tell if it was from the pain or her words getting to me, but tears started flowing.

"Aaaawwww, is da wittle Inkwing about to cwyyyy? She teased. "Good!"

*Thwack*

She kicked my stomach.

"Because you deserve it!" She added.

*Thwack*

She kicked the same spot again.

"That's for coming over and taking OUR Zapfish!"

*Thwack*

"That's for living comfortably above while I live in this shellhole!"

*Thwack*

"That's because you stupid agents piss me off!"

*Thwack*

"That's for making me throw up in my mouth from looking at your ugly face!"

*Thwack*

"That's for pointing a Splattershot in my face!"

*Thwack*

"That's for being an Inkling!"

*Thwack*

"That's for being pathetic enough to fall for the oldest trick in the book!"

At this point she just kept kicking the same spot over and over again.

"And these," She continued. "Are because I just-LIKE-KICKING YOU!"

After about a minute of kicking, she finally stopped.

"Okay, I've had my fun. Take her away." She said.

One walked over to grab me.

"Oh man, when the DJ sees we bagged an agent…" She started giggling.

The Octo that came to grab me then got shocked as soon as she touched me.

She paused for a second.

"Well, I guess we're just going to have to use ink to insulate her." She picked her dualie at me. "Unfortunately for you, we need to take this slow to keep you from being splatted, so this'll hurt for a while. Not that I care, just saying."

I could hear someone running towards us. I opened my eyes to see someone above us jump off a ledge and use a Splashdown. Splatting several Octolings and sending the rest flying back. I wasn't affected, so I knew it was friendly. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I could make out the shape…

Otis?!


	8. Chapter 8

(Minutes Earlier…Otis's POV)

"So what you're telling me is you're not only one of the biggest stars in the world, but also a secret agent?"

Marie nodded.

"And the Octarian menace is responsible for the Zapfish disappearance from now and two years ago?

She nodded again.

"And you hired my little sister as a new agent to help get it back?"

"That just about sums it all up." She said.

I needed a second to process this information. The Octarians are attacking, my sister's a secret agent and one of my favorite stars just got even cooler. One thing I still needed to know.

"So where's Sarah now?" I asked.

"She's currently on a mission fighting Octolings." She explained. "They're like the Octo-version of Inklings."

"Is she alright?" I needed to know.

"She needs to work on that ego," That wasn't untrue. "But she does have skills. I went radio-silent when you came along."

She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small device.

"We should probably check on her." She said.

As soon as she flipped it on, we were taken aback by screaming on the other side before it went to static. Marie dropped it in shock.

"Where'd she go?" I asked.

"Wha-?" She just came back to reality.

"Where did she go!?" I demanded.

"I-in the kettle up there!" She pointed in its direction.

I turned to run before Marie stopped me.

"You'll need a weapon first!" She stated. "What's your main?"

"Roller!" I answered.

"Take this and go!" She handed me headphones. "I'll have a roller sent to you along with a special!"

I bolted to the kettle, diving in.

As soon as I got to the other side, a flying container came and dropped a Roller in my hands with an ink tank, Autobombs, and Splashdown ability. I heard yelling in the distance and ran in that direction.

I kept going until I saw Sarah surrounded by what I guess were Octolings. I jumped over them and used the splashdown. Most got splatted, but some just got knocked back. I swung the roller and splatted another one. I looked around and there were three left. The black-haired one grabbed goggles with seaweed attached to them and a Mini Zapfish and ran off while the other two ran forward.

I dodged their shots and splatted both of them. I turned toward Sarah to see her bleeding, shivering, and twitching. This wasn't good. She was hurt, bad.

"Sarah!" I ran over to grab her, but as soon as I touched her, I got shocked. She groaned in pain.

"Marie, I can't even touch her!" I said into the headset. "She shocked me when I did."

"Use your ink to insulate her!" She ordered.

I grabbed my ink tank and poured half of it over her. It took a couple of seconds, but she was twitching a lot less, she was still shivering a bit. I put my hand on hers and didn't get shocked. Oh thank Cod.

"It's okay. You'll be okay." I said to her.

I then noticed a glow moving in the distance.

"Wait here." I told her. "I'll be right back."

I ran over to find the black-haired Octoling from earlier still holding the Zapfish. I walked over and readied my roller.

"So you found me…Impressive." She said. "I admit defeat."

I walked closer.

"I suppose congratulations are in order." She held her hand out with a warm smile on her face. "Good luck against the Octo Samurai and may we meet again one day on the battlefield."

Something was off. She was up to something.

"When I found my sister, she had electricity running through her body. I got shocked when I touched her." I told her. "Now, what around here produces electricity?"

She tilted her head. Her smile dropped. She put her hand down.

"Oh, you misunderstand." She said. "We found her like that. She must've mishandled the Zapfish she was carrying and gotten quite a shock from it. We were just about to help her when you showed up"

"A good story," I admitted. "But that doesn't explain why she was bruised and bleeding or why there's a wire on your glove connected to the Zapfish."

She froze, clearly not expecting me to notice that.

"Clever little-" She pulled out a Dualie and fired, but I dodged her shots. I swung my roller and knocked her back; the Mini Zapfish and her Dualie fell to the floor. She was up against a wall; her goggles fell off. I walked closer and prepared to splat her.

"W-wait!" She begged. "Spare me!"

I just stood there confused.

"Why?" I asked. "Why shouldn't I splat you right now?"

"Y-you don't understand how out spawning points work!" She was panicking. "O-our power shortage…we have to resort to low-energy spawners. We respawn but not instantly, it's slow! It's pain like you couldn't imagine!"

"Pain?" I was mad now. "You electrocuted my sister, beat her to a pulp, and want me to spare you because you'll feel pain!?"

I could tell she was terrified.

"I-I'm sorry!" She was on her hands and knees, head to the floor. "I admit it! I-I'm a sneaky, dishonest coward, b-but please be the better squid and spare me!"

I wasn't convinced.

"P-please," She begged, tears coming out. "I-I'll change my ways. I'll be good! Please, just give me a second chance! You're a hero, right! You believe in second chances, don't you?"

"Pleeease doooon't splat meeee!" she was crying now.

I just stood there watching her prostrate herself on the ground, a sobbing mess.

I sighed.

"Whatever." I said. "Just get out of here."

"Th-thank you, thank you! She shouted, still on the floor. "Thank you for giving me a second chance!"

I turned to and walked over to the Mini Zapfish.

"A second chance…" I then heard her grab something.

I threw an Autobomb over my shoulder and turned to see she had pulled out her other dualie to shoot me in the back, but whatever face of malice she had was replaced by one of shock and terror as the Autobomb landed right in front of her.

"Nooo!" She cried out before-

*Splat*

As her ghost flew off into the distance, I walked over to grab the Mini Zapfish, and then went over to get Sarah. She'd stopped twitching and was only slightly shivering. She was out cold. I picked her up, and made my way back to the kettle with Sarah on my back.


	9. Chapter 9

(An Hour Later…Otis's POV)

I got Sarah back and Marie helped me get her inside the Cuttlefish Cabin where we patched her up. She's hurt badly, but Marie said she should make a recovery soon. For now, she needs to rest.

"This might be asking a bit much, but I need your help." Marie said.

"You want me to help you fight the Octarians?" I could tell.

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother." She replied. "We need to get the Zapfish back, we have no idea what the Octarians are planning next, and your sister's in no condition to fight right now."

"I'll do it." I stated.

"Just like that?" She was a little confused.

"They hurt my sister." I reminded her. "Why wouldn't I help fight them?"

"Hm…Very well." She was impressed. "Now on one knee."

I did as she said. She closed her umbrella and held it like a sword. She set it on one of my shoulders.

"By the powers invested in me," She said, moving the 'sword' to the other shoulder. "I dub thee…the unofficial Agent 4.5. You may rise, your uniform will be sent to you in the mail after I get your measurements."

"Is that how you inducted my sister?" I asked as I stood back up.

"No, I just wanted to see if you'd actually go through that tacky ceremony." She gave her signature snarky grin.

We both chuckled. Well, If I had any doubts that that was Marie, they faded right there.

"The Octoboss is up next." She stated. "You may want to rest up."

She had a point. I just spent a couple hours looking for Sarah, several minutes chasing down Marie, and then fought Octolings. I needed a little rest. I walked over and lied down on the bench outside the cabin. After a while, I was ready again. I made my way back to Suction-Cup Lookout where Marie was waiting.

"Good luck." She said. "You'll ne-

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out from above.

We both looked up to see that black-haired Octoling from earlier. I readied my Roller.

"Not here to fight." She said. "Just wanted to ask something."

"How was spawning?" I asked her first.

"Painful." She stated with an annoyed grimace. "Very painful."

I guess she wasn't lying about that then.

"Well then, I guess you and my sister are even." I remarked. It was clear she didn't feel the same way. "So what'd you want to ask?

"You gonna fight Octo Samurai?" She asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "Why?"

She gave a mischievous grin.

"You're gonna die!" She taunted me.

She then gave me a very rude gesture before diving into a kettle.

"Well, that explains a lot." Marie said.

"What?" I wondered.

"The Splatoon has encountered that Octoling a couple times a while back." She explained. "None of those times were pleasant."

"Ah," I said.

"If she's here, that means they transferred some troops from Octo Gorge." She continued. "And apparently she's an Elite now."

"Huh," That's interesting.

I made my way to the boss kettle and jumped in.

When I got to the other side, I saw a Launchpad right in front of me. Then I heard a voice.

"I need some more data on-oh, never mind. I see you already have the Roller equipped. Carry on." Sheldon said.

I took the Launchpad and saw the Zapfish just sitting there above a pool of ink. As I took a step forward, a large tentacle grabbed it and pulled it under. Then, a large Octarian arose from the ground. He held the largest Roller I've ever seen and he was riding…a unicycle?

Suddenly a microphone turned on and an announcer with a familiar sounding voice tuned in.

"Ladies and gents, he's rough, he's tough, and he's a loyal fan of mine who splats with honor…" She announced. "Enter the Octo Samurai!"

I could hear a crowd cheering, but couldn't see anyone outside the ring Outside of a few Octoling fangirls holding Signs cheering my opponent. Maybe they added speakers to make the audience look bigger. Either that or this was being televised.

"And In the other corner, a terror who splats with no remorse," She was talking about me. "One of the agents shellbent on making sure you live without power…"

Wait, what?

"He deserves none of your praise," She added. "But I will admit he is kinda cute…"

Thanks?

"It's Agent…uh-this guy!" She didn't know my number.

The crowd booed me, but I paid them no mind. I did have to dodge a tomato thrown by one of the fangirls though.

The Octo Samurai looked at me and took a bow. It seemed he may actually have honor, so I bowed back.

"Let the Match begin!" She finished.

Marie called in.

"Smoke this clown, Agent 4.5. For the honor of your family…or something!" She was trying to amp me up.

I put my Roller down and ran forward. The Octo Samurai slowly made his way over on his unicycle. I swung my roller to splash some ink on him. He then raised his Roller and slammed it down. I got out of the way, but wow did it send ink flying. I'll have to be careful.

I got behind him and kept splashing him. I'd say he was about halfway covered when he jumped to the other side of the arena. That caught me off guard since I didn't think he could do that. I was about to ink a trail when I noticed his roller had turned into a motorcycle and he was charging right at me. I barely got out of the way in time.

"That's…the latest in Octarian weapon technology! The Octocycle!" Sheldon informed us.

"Okay, that's just ridiculous…" Marie said. I agreed.

His cycle turned back into a Roller. He attacked, but I dodged. He's strong, but slow. I kept splashing him until he finally got splatted. His ghost flew off, leaving a machine with a tentacle sticking out. The crowd was booing.

"The tentacle, Agent 4! Marie shouted. "Wail on it!"

I brought my roller down and jumped back as the tentacle splatted.

Suddenly his ghost flew back into the machine as he pulled himself out, seemingly struggling to do so.

He then looked my direction and leapt through the air, slamming his Roller down. I somehow managed to dodge that.

"OH CARP. This sucker's not messing around." Marie said.

You're telling me.

I inked myself a trail as he slammed the Roller down repeatedly. When it seemed like he finished his barrage, I started hitting him with my roller. I kept hitting him as he just stood there. Then I niticed his eye shine. Before I knew it, he spun around, hitting me with his Roller. I was knocked back several feet.

"Wow! What a hit!" The announcer cheered.

That hurt a lot. I could hear the crowd cheering after I got hit.

"Make sure to buy tickets to his new movie: Enter the Dragonfish, Today!" The announcer advertised.

Is this really the time for that?

When I got back up, I saw him revving up his Octocycle again. I jumped out of the way just in time and started hitting him with my Roller.

Then I saw his eye shine again. I jumped back as he spun around, then hit him till he splatted again.

"Bring the pain!" Marie's amping-up was actually working now as I splatted the tentacle a second time, the crowd booing yet again.

I jumped back again as he came back again. He held up his Roller again and it started spinning.

"Get ready…" Sheldon warned. "It looks like he's planning something nasty!"

He wasn't wrong as the Samurai slammed his Roller down in a quick barrage. I managed to dodge again, but it wasn't nearly as easy as before. I hit him with my roller some more before he knocked me back again with another spin attack.

"Yayer!" The announcer yelled as the crowd cheered again.

"Here comes the vertical swing!" Marie warned as the Samurai did another barrage of attacks. He had quite the range with a Roller. I got closer every time I dodged and hit him with the roller.

He was just about covered in ink when I saw his eye shine again. I had no time to dodge, so it was now or never. I swung my Roller as he swung his. Time seemed to slow down in that moment as only one of us was coming out un-splatted. The last splash of my ink making its way toward his face as his Roller was coming closer and closer towards mine.

*Splat*

His ghost flew off again. I had no time to catch my breath as I needed to splat that tentacle again. It took only a couple seconds. I jumped back again, the crowd still booing.

Their boos suddenly turned into panic as Octo Samurai's ghost was struggling to get back into the machine to respawn, but the machine was glowing bright and shaking until it exploded.

At that moment you could hear a pin drop. The machine was destroyed, Octo Samurai's ghost was nowhere to be seen, and the only sounds in the room came from the Zapfish. I walked over and grabbed it. As I walked back, I noticed the Samurai's fangirls just stared at me, jaws dropped. Clearly no one expected me to win.

"Uuuuhhh…" the Announcer was at a loss for words. "If you paid to see this fight in HD or in person, I'm sure DJ Octavio's staff will be more than happy to give you a full-"

"No refunds!" A much older male voice interrupted. "Peace out!"

"…Well, that's that I guess…" She said, not sure what to do. "Uumm…Stay Fresh!"

The microphone turned off.

I'm pretty sure I've heard that voice before, but I can't put my finger on it…


	10. Chapter 10

(Cephalon HQ…)

"Well, that'll be a blow to moral…" The girl on the radio said.

"Moral? Hah! All this proves is that that guy was a poser who wasn't as great as he was built up to be!" DJ Octavio laughed.

"Didn't you build him up though?" She asked.

"Can it! If I wanted sass, I would've gotten that cousin of yours." Octavio grumbled. "Now get on the radio and tell those hipsters to scram or else!"

"Right." She grabbed the speaker and tuned the dial until she could hear the agents' voices.

"Run! Leave now and never come back, or else!" She threatened. "Hello? Can you hear me? Hellooooo?"

"Well?" Octavio was getting impatient.

"Connection's on the fritz." She explained. "We'll just have to try again later."

"Eh, no probs." Octavio assured. "We've got a lot more in store for them."

"Ooooooooo…" She was getting interested. "What'cha got in mind?"

"An eager volunteer who's been rebuilt, upgraded, and itchin' for a rematch!" Octavio hinted.

"Can you give me another hint?" She asked.

"Fella's got lips for days, girl!" Octavio told her.

She thought about it for a second.

"Can you give me another hint?" She begged.

"Y'know what?" Octavio seemed annoyed. "I'm just gonna let this one be a surprise."

"Aaaaaawwww, I hate surprises" She whined. "Just tell me nooooooooow!"

"No." Octavio doubled down.

"Come oooooooooooon!" She wasn't giving up.

Octavio facepalmed.

"This is gonna be a long day…" He groaned.

(Cuttlefish Cabin…Sarah's POV)

"Wha-? What happened?" I asked, having just woken up. I noticed I was pretty bandaged up.

"You got messed up pretty bad." Marie explained. "Luckily, you got some help."

I could see a figure at the door. I turned to see Otis standing there.

"O-Otis?" I asked. "How'd you get here?"

"Li'l Judd told me he saw you go down a manhole next to Ammo Knights." He explained. "I went down here, found Marie, and she explained everything."

"You left out the part where you assaulted me." Marie quipped.

"And I was kind of hoping you would too…" Otis mumbled.

Marie gave him a punch in the shoulder and they shared a little chuckle. I couldn't help but smile too.

"…So what happened after I blanked out?" I asked. "Last thing I remember was being in horrible pain and then…you saved me, didn't you?"

"Yep." Otis answered. "Most of those Octos got caught in the Splashdown. The others weren't hard. That Elite was a pain in the beak, but she got splatted quickly."

I tensed up when he mentioned her. I hope it hurt when that witch got splatted.

"A heads-up for if you see her again." Marie said. "Be prepared for her droning on about how pathetic you are if she has the advantage, groveling at your feet if you overpower her, and for her to take every chance she can to hurt you."

I actually hope I see her again. I want to see her groveling, telling me she's sorry before getting splatted.

"She does have her limits though," She added. "Threaten her enough to a point and she'll know not to mess with you."

"I guess I should head out and splat some more Octos then," I concluded.

"Not in your condition, you're not." Marie said. "You're still injured from your encounter with the Octolings."

"But the boss kettle-"

"Is taken care of." Marie interrupted. "Otis fought the boss while you were out of commission.

"You did that?" I asked Otis. "Was it hard?"

"Yeah," He told me. "But I managed to beat him."

"Wow…" I was impressed. Does that mean…

"Yep, your big brother is an unofficial agent." Marie said. "He'll cover for you until you're back in fighting condition."

"Huh…" Was all I could say.

"So what was the boss anyway?" I asked. "What'd you fight?"

"A big guy called the Octo Samurai." Otis told me. "He held the biggest Roller I've ever seen."

"Cool!" It really was. "I bet you had a Roller duel!"

"Yeah, we did! He must've been some big shot celebrity or something," Otis added." There were fangirls there, it was televised, and there was an announcer girl too. I swear I heard her voice before though."

"Aw man!" I whined. "That sounds so cool! All I fought was a giant toaster oven."

"A…what?" Otis was confused. "Did you say a toaster oven?"

"Yeah, I don't know what was lamer," I added. "The boss, or Marie's horrible bakery puns."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Marie lied. "I don't make puns."

"You liar!" I shot Marie a dirty look.

"Well, anyway, it's getting late." Marie changed the subject. "I suggest getting some rest."

"Can we eat first?" I asked.

"Better you get some rest." Marie suggested.

"But I'm sooooooo hungry now." I whined.

"Let's get something, Marie." Otis agreed. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning."

"Alright, I'll order pizza." Marie conceded. "And some drinks."

"Yessss!" I did the best victory pose I could while still lying down.

25 minutes later…

Otis and I were digging into a large pizza, enjoying every bite. Even Marie grabbed a slice before heading to wherever she goes when she's not here.

"I still can't believe Marie was also a secret agent the whole time." Otis said.

"You sound like you know a lot about the Squid Sisters." I noted.

"Sis, I've had to use a lot of restraint to keep myself from geeking out this whole time." He told me.

"Why?" I asked "You a fan?"

"Are you kidding?" Otis was getting excited. "I've been a fan since coming to Inkopolis two years ago!"

"Really?" I wondered. "I've never heard of them."

"Eh, I don't blame ya." He admitted. "We are kind of cut off back at home."

"Can you tell me about them?" I asked. "I'd hate to be one of those un-fresh squidkids who hadn't heard of anyone famous."

An excited grin appeared on Otis's face. I immediately regretted asking.

"The Squid Sisters were the best!" He almost yelled. "I have all their songs downloaded! I can share some if you want!"

"Calm down, boy." I told him. "I said 'tell me about them,' not 'geek out'."

"Right, right." He agreed. "They're pop stars who did Inkopolis news back in the day."

"Like Off the Hook does now?" I asked.

"Yeah," Otis said. "But I like them a little more."

"I'll need to hear some of their songs to compare." I told him.

"And I'll help you download some." He reassured.

"So what happened to them?" I wondered. "I only see one of them."

"They got so big, they outgrew Inkopolis news." He explained further. "They since then, they've been focusing on their solo careers. Marie's been putting on solo concert, appearing on music shows, and she even started a career in theatre while her cousin, Callie, had been appearing on TV shows."

"Did you have a favorite?" I was curious to know.

"Well, Marie's wit always gets a chuckle out of me, but I was always on Team Callie." He admitted. "I just liked her energetic and upbeat personality more. She always seemed to look on the bright side of things"

"You crushing on her? I leaned forward with a smile on my face.

"Wha-Sarah!" His face was red. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"That wasn't a no." I teased.

"You're unbelievable." He said.

He wasn't wrong, but he didn't deny anything I said either. I just chuckled.

"Wonder where Callie is…" I said.

"We'd all like to know that." He told me. "She went missing a few days ago."

"What!?" I was shocked to hear that.

"Didn't you hear? He seemed confused. "It was all over the news."

"I may have been preoccupied at the time…" I admitted.

"Your lack of an attention span aside," The Cheeky Squid said. "I'm more concerned with how Marie's been holding up. She and Callie were always close. With her missing and with the Octarian business going on now…"

"Yeah…" I said. "She must be taking it pretty hard. We should ask if she's okay."

"It'd probably be best not to." He told me. "It's probably a sensitive topic for her."

"Alright." I agreed. "Well, I'd better get some rest now."

"Wait!" He stopped me while grabbing a beakbrush and paste a bag. "Before getting the pizza, I ran to the store to get these. I don't know where your apartment is, so…"

"How thoughtful." I complimented.

"Now open wide." He said, aiming the beakbrush at my mouth.

"O-Otis, I can do it myself!" I said with an annoyed look.

"Come on, don't be such a baby." He teased.

"You're treating me like one now!" I told him.

"Come on." The brush got closer. "I used to do this all the time when we were little."

"When we were little! I moved my head away.

"Come on."

"No!"

"Come ooooon."

"Noooooooo!"

We continued for about five minutes before Otis won. I'll never forgive him for that.


	11. Chapter 11

(The Next Day…)

Otis returned to find Marie standing next to Cuttlefish Cabin, Sheldon working on a TV close by, and Sarah sitting on the bench.

"Heya Otis!" Sarah waved.

"Hello 4.5." Marie waved. "Please use the codenames."

"Greetings!" Sheldon called out.

"Hey guys!" Otis said. He turned to Sarah. "I see you're healing up nicely."

"Yup!" Sarah pumped her fist in the air.

"Sheldon's a technical genius, not a medical one." Marie pointed out. "But he said Agent 4 should be back in fully healed by the end of tomorrow."

"She always was a fast healer." Otis noted.

"Yeah! I'm already walking around a bit," Sarah excitedly mentioned. "And I've been helping Marie upgrade weapons with Sheldon's Thingamajig."

"Enhancifier!" Sheldon corrected.

"Yeah, that." Marie added.

"So, where to next?"

"Next up is Beaker's Depot." Marie said. "From what I gather, it shouldn't be too different from what you-actually no, what your sister's been through since you kind of joined near the end of the last area."

"Right." Otis said. "So Sarah, what should I expect?"

"Floating buildings, rails, Launchpads, pathetically weak Non-Octoling Octarian regular soldiers, and at least one or two military or building design decisions that make me question what they were thinking." Sarah explained. "But the scenery will likely be pretty to look at, I'll give them that."

"Guess I should get going then." Otis started walking.

"Goog luck!" Sarah cheered.

"We'll keep in touch over the radio." Marie waved Otis farewell.

(Sarah's POV)

"So how was your little pizza party last night?" Marie asked.

"Oh, it was great!" I told her. "We spent some more time getting caught up and he told me more about you guys"

"What?" She seemed confused.

"You, the Squid Sisters." I answered.

"Oh, what'd he tell you?" She asked.

"How you two did the news and Splatfests before Off the Hook started doing it." I told her more. "Also, you do theatre?

"Oh yeah, ahem." She then picked a rock off the ground and held it up. "Alas poor Sheldon, I knew him well."

"But I'm still here." Sheldon responded, having just tuned in to the conversation.

"I know, Sheldon." Marie said, a little annoyed. "I was just doing a thing."

"Oh, hehe…sorry." Sheldon said, a bit embarrassed. "I'll just keep working on the TV."

"Anyway, oh, while I was doing some reconnaissance near beaker's depot last night, I heard screaming coming from the cabin." Marie recalled. "What happened?"

"That was me, sorry." I told her. "Otis wanted to brush my beak like he did when we were kids and I was having none of that and he wouldn't take no for an answer."

Marie started laughing.

"Hey, stop laughing!" I nearly yelled, embarrassed.

"S-sorry, I'm just picturing that." Marie said, catching her breath. "He must really care about you."

"Hmph!" I turned the other way, arms-crossed, making my trademark pouty-face.

Marie just started laughing again.

In no time at all, Otis made it through the first area. We could tell he made it to the second area when we heard him cursing under his breath chasing the Tentacooks. The then entered the third area.

"Is this some kind of resort?" We heard him say over the comm.

"Yep, apparently they're using the Zapfish to power recreational areas as well." Marie explained. "Weird how they apparently need power, yet they're spending it on things they don't need."

"Maybe they need some fun and relaxation too." Otis said. "I know I would if I lived down here my whole life."

"Geez Otis," I said. "Whose side are you on?"

"Just saying." Otis seemed oddly soft towards these jerks after all they've done.

"Alright, TV's fixed!" Sheldon announced.

"So this is how you've been watching me?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's a camera on your headset connected to the TV." Marie explained.

Sheldon turned the TV on as the sight of Otis bouncing on large, inflatable pads appeared on the screen. He seemed to be enjoying it.

"Wow," I said. "Looks like he's having fun."

"The Octarians put a lot of interesting things in their domes." Marie mentioned.

"I must find one of these Bounce Pads for some…research." Sheldon commented.

Sure Sheldon, research. But, I will admit I find the image of that little nerd having fun on a bounce pad to be strangely adorable.

Everything seemed to be going well, with the exception of a couple times when he landed in the middle of what appeared to be regular Octarian vacationers. It got real awkward real quick. I really felt sorry for him. Finally he got out with the Zapfish.

"Why do they have banana-boats if the water's too deep to stand in? Otis wondered.

"I told you some of their design decisions made no sense." I reminded him.

"Excuse me..."

"Woah!" Otis turned around shocked to see an Octoling vacationer followed him out.

"A-are you the guy who defeated Octo Samurai?" She shyly asked.

"I…uh, yeah." He answered.

She then put her hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer…before kneeing him in the groin and diving back in the kettle.

"You okay Otis!?" I worriedly asked.

"Y-yeah." Otis said, struggling to get back up. "In a way, I guess I deserved that. I did splat her idol."

"You deserve more than that." A voice behind him said.

He turned to see Cass the Elite standing there, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Sea-Witch!" I yelled over the comms. "If you hurt Otis, I swear I'll rip your limbs off!"

"I'm just here to ask a question, runt!" Cass clarified.

"What do you want?" He asked, clearly not wanting to deal with her.

"What'd you agents do with Octo Samurai?" Cass asked.

"I beat him." He answered.

"I mean after that!" She got angry.

"What are you talking about?" Otis was confused, as were we all.

"You splatted him and destroyed the machine he was respawning from, but he should've made it to another spawn point before fading away, but no one's seen him since the fight." She explained. "So where is he!?"

"I don't know!" Otis answered. "I beat him, grabbed the Zapfish, and left."

"Liar!" She yelled. "We know you did something! First the toaster, now Octo Samurai! None of them showed back up after you agents splatted them!"

"What?" Otis had no idea what she was talking about. "Whatever you're on about, we had nothing to do with it!"

"Oh, I believe you…but you know who doesn't" She was up to something. "Him."

Before he could react, Otis was platted by a charger shot. Before his ghost could fly away, Cass took out a bottle, jumped up, and caught him.

"Otis!" I screamed.

"Nice shot as always, Sharp." We could hear her say through Otis's headset.

"What'd you do to Otis!?" I yelled into the comm. "If you lay a finger on Him-"

"Oh, we're just gonna see what this liar knows." She said after she picked up the headset. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to give this sucker some first-hand experience with an Octarian respawn point."

We could hear her breaking the headset as it got more filled with static.

"You bitch!" I screamed, despite the headset being broken by this point. "You give him back!

I fell to my knees. Marie rushed over to me.

"Give Him back!"

Tears started flowing. I dropped the radio.

"Give my brother back…"


	12. Chapter 12

(Sarah's POV)

"Why?" I cried. "Why did this have to happen to him?"

"Don't worry." Marie tried to calm me down. "We'll find him."

"Yeah, I will!" I got up "Cod knows what those Octojerks are doing to him."

"No, you won't!" Marie stopped me. "You aren't fully healed yet!"

"Who else will go?" I asked. "You, Sheldon, or No-Shows 1 and 3?"

"I will." She answered.

"I wondered when you'd finally do something." I mumbled a little too loudly.

"That's enough!" Marie shouted. "Look, I know how you're feeling, more than you know, but you don't see me snapping at you!"

"I…" I wasn't sure what to say.

"We'll find your brother." Marie reassured me. "He'll be alright. I won't let those Octarians hurt him."

"…Sorry Marie…" I apologized.

"It's okay," Marie told me. "Now, I need to get my gear ready."

"...Marie?" I said.

"Yes?" Marie stopped

"Are there any Octarians that aren't…horrible?" I asked her.

She seemed surprised by my question.

"You'd be surprised." She responded.

"Yeah…I would." I really would.

Marie entered the cabin, coming out a couple minutes later in a mostly green outfit with a cap and white face mask, she was holding a charger.

"You look cool." The best compliment I could come up with.

Marie looked at me. I could tell she was smiling.

"You and Sheldon watch the cabin." Marie ordered. "I'll check the other Kettles."

We both nodded as Marie took her leave.

10 Minutes Later…

I was sitting on the bench watching Marie's progress while Sheldon was fiddling with some sort of whatchamacallit.

"Soooo…is someone else running the shop when you're here or what?" I asked Sheldon

"I come here to help build things the Splatoon orders from me during my legally required break." Sheldon explained. "Since Marie asked me to help watch the Cabin, I had to close up shop for today, but worry not, my friend! I'll always find ways to keep myself busy and improve my skills! Just now, I'm taking notes from some of my Grandpappy's old blueprints and combining them with my knowledge of-"

I just put my headphones on. I may as well listen to some of the Squid Sisters' music that my brother was raving about.

Ink Me Up

I hear two singers. One's definitely Marie, while the other one must be Callie. Hm, not bad. I decided to listen to some more.

City of Color

Another good song. I'm liking these so far.

Now or Never

I've heard other versions of this song before. Still, a pretty good song.

Maritime Memory

I'll play this one later. So far it sounds more like an End-of-the-Journey kind of song

Bomb Rush Blush

This one's very energetic. Only one singer this time. It clearly wasn't Marie though. Must be Callie. She's pretty good. I was bobbing my head to this.

Tide Goes Out

A Marie solo song. It's very nice. My body's swaying to the beat. I take back everything bad I ever said to Marie. Except the part about her lame puns. She deserved that.

Calamari Inkantation

A modern cover of an ancient melody? This ought 'a be interesting…

A nice start….I -

Suddenly I felt my body moving to the beat. My head was banging. I was bouncing around in my seat. I then jumped out of my seat and started dancing. I couldn't dance, so it looked awkward, but I didn't care. Sheldon was looking at me like I was a mad-squid, but then my earbuds accidentally got unplugged, letting the song flow out. Sheldon immediately saw what I was on about started doing a little dance too. We both looked like idiots, but we were having too much fun to care.

Then the song ended.

"Aaww, it's over?" I whined. "Come on, let's hear that again!"

That idea was cut off by a call from Marie.

"I cleared through the Dance Floors and the Parking Garage." She informed us. "According to our intel, the next area has a high concentration of Octolings. If I were a betting squid, I'd guess he was there."

"Alright!" I cheered.

"Something happen?" She asked. "You seem a lot more upbeat now."

"It's, uh, well…I'll explain later." I told Marie.

After a couple of minutes, we were watching Marie go against the Octolings. She was good. She had charger skills like no one I've ever seen.

"Five Mini Zapfish, twelve Octolings, and still no sign of your brother." Marie bluntly stated. "I'm beginning to think he isn't here."

"He has to be!" I shouted. "Do you at least see that sea-witch?"

"If she's here, she's probably hiding somewhere." Marie noted.

As if on cue, Cass jumped out of a puddle of ink and immediately started shooting at Marie. Marie dodged all her attacks and sent a charger blast to her side. The hit caused her to fly backwards and faceplant on the ground. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I guess you beat me…" Cass said. "I admit defeat."

"Cassandra, you're many things…" Marie noted. "Spineless, arrogant, spiteful, sadistic, but stupid is not one of them, and attacking me head-on by yourself is a stupid move."

"Stupid?" She asked. "Stupid is not bringing someone to watch your back."

At that moment Marie immediately jumped out of the way as charger shots flew from behind her. She quickly ran for cover.

"Oh, Carp!" Marie groaned.

(Interesting info: Apparently "Thingamajig" and "Whatchamacallit" are actual words recognized by Microsoft Word. You learn something new every day.)


	13. Chapter 13

(Sarah's POV)

"Marie, are you okay!?" I was panicking.

"I'm fine," She responded. "But they've got me pinned. I just need to figure out whe-"

She was cut off by more charger shots and Cass laughing like an idiot.

"I gotta get to her!" I said.

"Aren't you still recovering though?" Sheldon worriedly asked.

"Y-yeah, my nose still stings a little, my muscles are a bit tense, and my gut still hurts, but I can't sit here and to nothing!" I told him.

He took a moment to think about it.

"You'll need a weapon." He stated.

Sheldon grabbed a Herobrush and set it in the enhancithingy.

"I'll send it your way when it's ready." He told me. "For now, you'll have to make use of the Hero Shot."

I nodded, grabbed my agent uniform and headset from the cabin, and headed toward the kettle.

I got to the other side and followed the ink trails Marie made. I could see Marie hiding behind a wall with Cass and a couple of Octolings firing at her. I knew just what to use…

I pulled out the Tenta Missles. They never saw it coming. Well, of course the only one to notice was Cass, who swam away like a coward.

"Agent 4?" Marie was surprised. "I appreciate the assistance, but what are you doing here? You're still recovering."

"I couldn't just do nothing." I told her. "And it looked like you needed help."

Marie nodded in agreement, but then motioned me to get down. We both took cover as more charger shots were flying our way. It was that Octarian that splatted Otis. I couldn't tell where the shots were coming from since every time I looked around the corner, another blast was sent my way.

"Okay Marie, what's the plan?" I asked.

She took a pause, clearly trying to think of one.

"You have a plan, right?" I needed to know.

She then looked at me.

"Cass still has 4.5 in a bottle." Marie told me. "I'll provide cover fire, you go after Cass."

I nodded in agreement. She inked a trail on one side; I inked a trail on the other. She then motioned me to switch sides with her. I went through her ink trail as she fired in the direction the shots were coming from. A few enemy charger shots went in my direction, but I got away just in time. Now where was that sea-witch? If it was anything like last time, I should probably check near the Mini Zapfish.

After a short while, there was only one Mini Zapfish to go. As I got closer, it didn't take long for Cass to jump out and start shooting at me. I took cover.

"You left Marie to fight Sharp all by herself?" Cass taunted. "I thought you cared about her."

"So far, Agent 2 is one of the best charger users I've ever seen." I yelled back.

"Marie's one of the best," She admitted. "But Sharp IS the best."

I was pretty sure she was just trying to get to me, so I ignored that comment.

"Give Otis back!" I told her.

"Not until he tells us what you agents have done with the Octobosses." She replied.

"We didn't do anything!" I yelled. "Now give him back!"

"I really hate liars, you know." The hypocrite said. "And that lie was almost as pathetic as you are."

I started firing back, but she was dodging my shots. Suddenly, a sharp pain hit my stomach. Not now. This is the worst time. I could tell she noticed and used the opportunity to run up and smack me in the face with her Dualie. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, her foot pinned me down.

"Oh Cod, you're such a pathetic runt!" She taunted me. "I could tell after our first encounter that you're a weak, incompetent runt who needs your sibling to bail you out of trouble!"

I just shot her the best look of defiance I could muster while struggling to get up.

"Let me tell you how this is gonna go." She started. "You and your brother will be coming with me, I'll hand you two over to Octavio, and he'll be so amazed by me, that he'll give me everything I deserve."

"Now," She pulled out an empty bottle and pointed a Dualie at my head. "Any last words?"

I then saw something flying behind her.

"Yeah, Herobrush!" I grinned.

Suddenly Cass got smacked in the back of the head by one of Sheldon's drones carrying a weapon case. As she fell over, I jumped back up as a Herobrush landed in my hands. Cass got back up and started firing, but her shots were easy to dodge. She tried swimming away, but I was faster running on a brush than she was at swimming. I swerved in front of her and cut her off. She jumped up and aimed her Dualies, but I smacked her with my brush, sending her flying right into the Zapfish container. The force of her impact broke the glass. Then, there she was, on the ground with me standing as the victor.

She looked up, her goggles having fallen off.

"Please don't splat me…" She begged. "I'll do anything…"

Here comes the groveling…

"Give Otis back and I might consider it." That was a lie. I'd splat her anyway.

Her eyes were darting around, clearly trying to find a way out of this. She then pulled the Otis in a Bottle out.

"Catch!" She threw the bottle in the air.

I jumped up and caught it as she grabbed the Zapfish and bolted.

"Oh no you don't!" I quickly put my brush down and ran after her.

It took no time at all to catch up to her and smack her down.

"Oh come on!" She whined. "Why does this keep happening?"

"Wow, that Elite you were with the first time was a nightmare," I pointed out. "But you aren't much harder than the Average Octoling soldier."

"Shut up…" She mumbled.

"Shut up…" She said louder this time.

"How'd you even become an Elite?" I asked her.

"I said shut up!" She said even louder that time. She was shaking a bit. She couldn't look me in the eye.

"Aaww, is Li'l Cassie about to Cwyyyy?" I taunted her.

"Shut up!" She yelled. "Don't you ever call me that!"

I was actually a little startled by her reaction.

"I…will not be looked down on by you!" She hissed. "Just who the shell do you think you are?"

I just stood there, watching.

"I know that look..." She's just rambling at this point. "You think you're better than me? Well you're not! I'm an Elite! You know what that means? It means I'm a high class soldier! It means I'm better than you! It means I'm one of the best, so don't you dare look at me like that!

"Geez," I was getting tired of her. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is you always treating me like a joke!"

I just stood there looking at her as she was catching her breath.

"What?" I was confused. "I only met you, like, yesterday. Who are you talking about?"

Her eyes were darting around again. It looked like she didn't know what to do.

"Ummm…" I wasn't sure what to do now either.

"Just splat me and get it over with…" She said.

I picked up the Zapfish and looked at her. She was just sat there, staring at me.

"Well?" She was getting impatient.

"Well what?" I asked.

"Aren't you gonna splat me?" she wondered.

"Nah, not feeling it." I told her.

She just stared at me, confused.

"Oh, thanks for being nice enough to give me my brother back!" I said.

"…Just get out of here…" She grumbled.

I waved her goodbye as she just sat there.

Now to find Marie.

I walked back to where I last saw Marie to find the entire area covered in ink of two colors. I looked around to find Marie standing in the open, looking around with a confused look on her face. She then turned to see me.

"What just happened?" she asked.

Before I could answer, my legs finally gave out. I collapsed to the ground as Marie rushed over to my help me up.


	14. Chapter 14

(Sarah's POV)

"So what happened?" I asked Marie.

"I don't know." Marie answered. "That Octoling sniper had me on the ropes the whole time and he just left not long before you show up."

It was then I realized that Cass probably wasn't bluffing.

"Anyway, what happened with you?" Marie asked. "Did you get your brother back?"

"Yup," I held up my Otis-in-a-Bottle. "He's right here. Zapfish too."

"Then let's get out of here." Marie said.

I couldn't agree more.

(5 minutes later…Otis's POV)

After what felt like dreamless sleep, I was finally let out. I expected a slow, painful respawn, but instead found myself respawning instantly with Sarah wrapping her arms around me. I returned the favor.

"S-Sarah!?" I was surprised.

She just held me tightly, not letting go.

"How'd you find me? I asked her. "Aren't you still hurt? What happened?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. She said, not breaking the hug. "Don't ruin the moment."

After thirty more seconds, the hug started getting awkward.

"Okay Sarah," I said. "You can let go now."

"No." She didn't let go.

"Let go." I repeated.

"I don't wanna!" She hugged tighter.

"Sarah, how do you expect me to stop treating you like a kid when you do this?" I asked.

"I don't care!" Her mind was made up.

"Is this for the beakbrush thing?"

"Maybe..." The cheeky squid replied.

"As great as familial hugs are," Marie came to my aid. "We still have a job to do."

"Right." Sarah finally broke the hug and sat on the bench. "I'll catch ya up after you beat the Octoboss."

"Alright, I'll be back before you know it." I quickly ran off to beat the boss.

After a couple minutes, I was on the other side of the boss kettle. Sheldon wanted me to use Dualies this time. I guess I'll make due.

Another Zapfish, another tentacle grabbing it. This time, the boss rising out of the enemy ink looked like a giant box.

"I'm BAAAAAAAAACK!" A sound came from the boss.

"Did that thing just talk?" Sarah asked.

"Wait, I know this guy!" Marie said. "It's Octostomp!"

"Octostomp?" Sheldon asked. "But didn't Agent 3 take him down years ago?"

"I guess he's back for more." Marie replied. "You've got this, Agent 4!"

"Splat that thing, bro!" Sarah shouted. "It gives me the creeps!"

In no time at all, I dodged its slam attack, climbed up, and splatted the tentacle on the other side.

Then, as it got back up, it suddenly gained some kind of covering.

"And I brought this sweet new coat!" The Neo Octostomp roared.

"Unthinkable…" Sheldon said. "His armor is completely uninkable!"

"Gotta hand it to these Octarians." Marie commented. "They sure know how to go big."

"Try hitting the big 'Hit here' buckle right where its nose would be." Sarah actually gave some good advice.

As I swam up, it gained a large splatling-type weapon on top and started firing at me. The shots were fast, but I dodge-rolled just in time.

I shot at the buckle. He tried to stomp me, but I dodged to the side. When he got off, I shot it some more and the coat came off.

It didn't take long for it to charge at me again. Luckily, it was fairly easy to dodge. After it slammed down, I inked a trail on its side and splatted the tentacle.

"Ew, I just noticed that thing had tiny legs." Sarah cried. "Can this thing get any grosser?"

It got back up again, the coat predictably came back on and it suddenly it had three faces.

"GAAAAAAGH!" Marie freaked out. "THIS DUDE JUST GREW TWO MORE FACES! "

"EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS THING IS WRONG!" Sara freaked as well. "HURRY UP AND PLAT IT ALREADY!

I kept firing at in as it kept trying to stomp me. The stomps were getting harder to dodge since I couldn't go to the sides anymore. Thankfully, after a few more shots, the coat, and the faces were blasted off.

"Yes!" Sarah cheered.

After charging one more time, I went up its side and splatted the tentacle a third time. I jumped back and watched its weird-looking legs spin around before it exploded.

"Ah," Sarah sounded relieved. "No more grossness."

"You've been oddly quiet." Marie pointed out.

"Not really much to say." I said. "Anything I could think of, you guys already said."

I grabbed the Zapfish and made my way back.

"Soooo….anyone else want pizza?" I suggested.

"Again?" Marie asked.

"Why not?" I responded.

"Ooooh, let's get a Meat Lover's this time!" Sarah cheered.

"As long as you're paying." I told her.

"What?" Sarah seemed shocked.

"I had to pay for your breakfast after you left the diner yesterday." I explained. "This'll even it out.

"Fine." Sarah conceded.

30 minutes later…Pizza Party

The band of heroes had been enjoying a good meal, sharing many conversations and laughs. Even taking the time to bring everyone up to speed.

"So why didn't you splat her? Otis asked. "After all she did?"

"Eh, she seemed to have her own problems." Sarah explained. "Plus I thought it would get the message across better if she knew I could splat her, but didn't."

"Surprised she didn't beat that out of you." Otis said, impressed. "Since when did you start acting mature?"

"Hey, I can be mature." Sarah corrected.

"And call pajamas 'jammies' and hold hugs long after they become awkward." Otis quipped.

"You call them what?" Marie started chuckling.

"Nothing!" Sarah wanted to end that conversation.

"Any way, I want to thank you both again for all you've done so far." Marie started. "I think it's time I told you about my other purpose in asking for your help…"

Sarah and Otis sat there watching Marie intently.

"When we met, I told you I was searching for the Great Zapfish. But I'm afraid that's not the whole story." She continued. "You see…Even more than the Great Zapfish, I want to find my cousin Callie. She vanished on the same day as the Great Zapfish!"

"Yeah, we know." Otis told her. "It was all over the news."

"Otis told me." Sarah added. "I already thought that was part of why we were here."

"…Wait. You already knew?!" Marie asked, surprised. "Phew. Cool."

Marie looked relieved to get that off her chest.

"…So anyway. I'm Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and Callie is Agent 1." Marie explained. "Then there's Agent 3, who's currently out with our grandpa, Cap'n Cuttlefish. They won't be back for a while…and I have no idea where Agent 3's friend went."

"Wow." Otis thought to himself. "Both Marie and Callie were secret agents the whole time. They just keep getting cooler…"

"I was supposed to be protecting Inkopolis while the Cap'n was away, but then Callie…The Great Zapfish…" Marie was looking down. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner…We'd be totally sunk without you agents."

"It's alright Marie." Otis reassured.

"I know we'll find Callie if we keep looking!" Marie sounded more determined now. "Think you can see this thing through?"

"Of course!" Otis replied.

"Heck yeah!" Sarah added.

"Lea…No…LEAVE NOW!" A voice came from the radio.

"Huh? Who's there? Marie asked the voice. "If you get in our way, the agents will mess you up!"

"Sounded like that announcer girl from the Octo Samurai fight." Otis pointed out.

"Maybe Octavio got a radio girl or something." Sarah suggested.

"Well, if he did, I'm just now hearing about it." Marie said.

"…So…you mentioned Agent 3 had a friend?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, the unofficial Agent 3.5." Marie told her. "I was to check on Octo Canyon while he was told to watch our Octarian prisoner."

"What happened?" Otis asked.

"That's the weird thing." Marie continued. "After Callie vanished, I came to get his help in Octo Valley, and he and our prisoner were gone. No sign of a struggle or anything."

"Huh." Otis replied. "Think we'll run into him around here?"

"If you do, he's got some serious explaining to do." Marie made clear.

(Elsewhere…)

"Well, Octostomp failed…again." A female figure pointed out.

"I really thought those upgrades would help," Octavio admitted. "But I guess there's no fixin' failure."

"So what's next?" The figure asked.

"The Cleanser of Inklings, The Octo Shower!" Octavio announced. "That sucka's armed to the beak!"

"Buuut…there's no such thing as overkill, DJ." The figure stated.

"Oh, really now?" Octavio was intrigued. "You plannin' something', girl?"

"Well, what if we pushed progress on your little…pet project?" She suggested.

"Ya think so?" Octavio wondered. "Actually, yeeaah…That sounds like a great idea. I'm lovin' how devious you've been lately."

"Yeah!" The figure cheered. "I'm a Devious Diva!"

"Gya ha ha ha!" Octavio laughed. "A'ight let's go pay him a visit."


	15. Chapter 15

(The Next Day…)

Otis returned to Cuttlefish cabin yet again where Sarah and Marie were waiting. Marie was patiently standing with her umbrella while Sarah was punching and kicking the air, full of energy, ready to go.

"Well, you're looking a lot better." Otis pointed out.

"Yeah, my stomach aches a tiny bit," Sarah admitted. "But other than that, Marie says I'm ready to get back out there."

"And this time, you'll have each other to rely on this time." Marie said, reaching for something in the cabin. "And you'll need to look the part too…"

She gave Otis a large box. Inside was a Hero Suit just that matched Sarah's. He quickly put on the jacket, boots, and headphones.

"Woah, sweet, this fits like a glove!" Otis said. "How'd you know my size?"

"I have my ways." Marie replied. "So what do you think, Agent 4?"

"Maching unifoooorms!" Sarah cheered. "Let's take a picture!"

"Alright, Marie, hold my phone." Otis said.

"Just don't post this online or anything." Marie urged. "Secret agents and stuff, you know?"

"We won't" The siblings said in unison.

"Pose for the camera!" She held the phone steady.

The siblings struck a pose and Marie took the picture. Being satisfied with the results, they were off to the next area, Slimeskin Garrison.

"Don't expect any resorts this time." Marie said. "My dossier says from here on out its all military bases and research facilities."

"Well, at least I won't be ruining anyone's vacation this time." Otis said, relieved.

"It's not like any of these octos were friendly before." Sarah pointed out.

"But with the both of you working together, we should knock these out in no time at all." Marie said, determined. "Now go knock those kettles out!"

"Yes Ma'am!" They said in unison.

"Please don't call me ma'am." Marie sighed. "I'm not some grandma (had to deal with that enough my last Splatfest)…"

"Sorry." They both apologized before heading into the first kettle.

It didn't take long to clear the first kettle, despite the confusion on the purpose of the Octoballers. They found the second kettle a bit more challenging due to constantly getting pinned behind walls by Octocommanders. They found the third kettle pretty to look at. They found the experimentorium oddly devoid of experiments. Propellerland existed.

"You know, I'm not getting a whole lot of 'research and logistics' in this research and logistics base." Sarah commented.

"Yeah, it almost feels like they moved whatever they had out of there." Otis added.

"And still no sign of the Zapfish, Callie, or that 3.5 guy." Sarah said.

"There has to be an easier way to find out…" Otis wondered.

They took a moment to think.

"Ooh, ooh, I've got an idea!" Sarah jumped up.

"Alright, shoot." Otis said.

"We're in an Octarian base, right?" She asked.

"Right." Otis replied.

"And naturally an Octarian would know about this place, right?" She continued.

"Riiiiiight..." Otis could see where this was going.

"So, I was thinking…" She leaned in closer. "Maybe we could find an Octarian and 'convince' them to give us a little info."

"But what Octarian would tell us anything?" Otis wondered.

"I know the one…" A devious smile appeared on Sarah's face. "Maybe we should check and see how our best friend is doing."

(10 minutes later…Another POV)

Another day, more Zapfish duty. More useless regulars to guard the Zapfish. Well, at least I have some Elites this time, some Octosnipers, shell, I even have Sharp here. The tall towers here are great for Charger users like him. Now if only I had the rest of my squad…

Suddenly I saw one of the regulars trip over. Pathetic nobody.

"Ugh, you'd think being hypnotized to follow orders would increase efficiency." I lamented. "Well, at least these troops don't sass as much."

"Captain Cassandra!" One of said troops grabbed my attention.

"What is it?" I adjusted my goggles.

"Our scouts report that the agents are on their way." She informed me.

Of course they are. Why shell was I sent to guard more Zapfish? I wish I was back in the Gorge.

"Which one is it? I asked her.

"Both." She replied.

Both?! Seriously?! I can get the drop on one of them, but both?

"S-send all troops to their positions!" I ordered. "Put three next to the entrance with orders to splat anyone who comes through!"

"Yes, Captain!" She saluted before heading off.

"Sharp, you're with me!" I told my squadmate while I grabbed a Roller. "I will not be humiliated again!"

(5 minutes later…)

Any time now…Cod they piss me off. There's no way they can humiliate me again. They aren't that great…yeah, they aren't. They just got lucky. First time, she got another fighter in at the last second and the second time I got hit in the head and she just switched weapons in the middle of a fight. Yeah, that's right, they aren't skilled. They were just cheating. They're dirty, unskilled cheaters. Well, good luck playing dirty this time. This place is so well-armed, that some of my troops are getting splatted already-wait, what?

Sure enough, they were sneaking around, splatting my troops. Even a couple of Octosnipers got splatted.

"Wait here sharp," I ordered. "I'm gonna get a closer look."

I jumped down and snuck my way over there. Close, but not too close.

*Splat*

*Splat*

I turned to see two of my troops guarding the Mini Zapfish get splatted. The agents grabbed the Zapfish, but something was off. They were inking all over the place, intent on covering all of our ink. They were also looking around, checking every corner. The shell are they doing?

"You see her?" The one named Sarah asked.

"Nope." Her brother named Otis said. "Keep looking. I know Cass's here somewhere.

"Wait, what?!" I screamed internally. "Were they…looking for me?!"


	16. Chapter 16

(Cass's POV)

I scrambled to get back to Sharp. What was wrong with those two? I could swear they'd come for the Zapfish and want nothing to do with me, but instead they came here exclusively to find me? Oh no. What do they want with me? What are they gonna do to me? Wait, Sharp!

"Sharp," I got his attention. "Would you be a dear and splat those agents?!"

Sharp nodded, grabbed his charger, and headed off.

(Sarah's POV)

More down, six Mini Zapfish, still no Cass.

"Hey br-" I was cut off by charger shots.

We quickly took cover.

"I'll ink the walls, you run up the ramps." Otis said. "He can only aim at one of us."

I nodded at him.

"Alright, when I say 'break'." He told me. "3-2-1, break!"

I put my brush down and made my way up the ramps while Otis splashed ink on the walls to swim up. As I was running, I could see the sniper was an Octoling boy (So they do exist…). He had black hair with blue rings and was wearing goggles with seaweed like Cass, but he was also wearing a black bandanna over his face that had a white smile on it. He also seemed to be a bit younger than Cass, around my age probably.

Before I knew it, he took aim at me. One of his shots grazed my cheek as I barely dodged the blast. He was good. He then turned around to fire on Otis, who was starting to get close.

*Splat*

Otis went flying back to the entrance. I was alone…

He then turned to face me. I went in a zig-zag kind of pattern, breaking it every now and then. I avoided getting Splatted, but several shots did hit me. I got behind cover again, needing to refill my ink tank.

A few moments later, I could see Otis swimming up in my ink trail. Alright, we have a-

*Splat*

Otis went flying back again. Clam-it!

I needed to think of something.

After a few more moments, Otis returned in his own trail this time. Maybe if-

*Splat*

Otis flew off again. He keeps getting splatted before he can get to me.

…As much as I hate to admit it, that gave me an idea…

I waited a little longer, watching Otis swim back. As he started to get close, I immediately got out of cover and ran up. I inked the wall beneath the sniper, and then turned to run up the ramps. He then took aim at me as I got hit in the shoulder, but kept running. He turned his attention away from me to splat Otis again when I got close enough to throw an Autobomb his way. He dodged the blast, but by the time he did, Otis made it up the wall to his level with me closing in.

He quickly inked a trail up the next incline, but I cut him off. Otis came in from behind when the sniper used a Splashdown. We both got knocked to the ground. He inked another trail past me. He transform and swam up, but as soon as he got to me, I flipped over and grabbed him by the tentacle. He transformed back and tried aiming his charger at me, but I kicked his charger out of his hands and it flew down to the bottom of the stage, breaking.

He suddenly shot back up scrambled down the stage. He looked panicked. I looked over the side to see him struggling to put his charger back together to no avail. He must've really liked that weapon.

"Guess he's out of commission." Otis noted.

"Guess so." I agreed.

"And you'll be too soon enough!" We could hear Cass's voice.

We looked up to see her standing at the top with four other Octolings.

"Hey, Cass!" I called out. "We've been looking for ya!"

"I noticed!" She shot back. "And it's creepy!"

"Look, just come quietly and this won't have to get messy." Otis suggested.

"I'm not coming with you to Octo knows where to do Octo knows what!" She declined our offer. "Alright girls, whip 'em out!"

Then she and the other Octolings pulled out Sting Rays aimed right at us.

(Cass's POV)

Yes! I finally have them right where I want them. I aimed my Sting Ray right at their stupid faces.

"Fiiiiiirrrrreee!" I ordered as we all took widespread shots to cover more ground. I could see them throw some ink around before we fired, but like it would help them.

The entire floor they were standing on was covered in Sting Ray beams. We were too widespread for them to dodge to the sides and they couldn't go down the wall since they'd be hit anyway. Then, the Rays stopped firing. Not an Inkling in sight.

"Hah…Ha…hahaha" I started laughing "Fffahahahaha! I got you! I finally got you! Well, you know what they say; the simplest solution is the best one!"

"Captain?" One of the subordinates asked.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"I didn't see their ghosts fly off…" She said.

"…What?"


	17. Chapter 17

(Otis's POV)

Cass is creative, I'll give her that. Five Stingrays pointed at us at once in a widespread pattern. We would've been splatted had she factored in the fact that she was standing atop an inkable wall.

"How could you miss?!" We heard her yell. "Where even are they?!"

"Right here!" Sarah yelled as if on cue as we jumped up from the wall and started splatting her cronies.

"Nope!" She yelled as she dived over the side past us down the stage.

As Sarah splatted the last Octoling, I turned to chase Cass down.

We covered most of the previous area, so she was struggling to get through. She had to ink a path while all we had to do was swim down. We saw her pass that distraught sniper from before, still trying to put his weapon back together.

"Sharp, do something!" She ordered.

It was like she didn't even exist the way he ignored her. She cursed at him some more before running off again up the other side. It wasn't long before we finally caught up.

(Cass's POV)

I got tackled to the ground, that Otis guy had me pinned to the ground in enemy ink with one of my arms behind my back.

"What do you want with me?!" I demanded to know. "If this is going where I think it's going, I will scream!"

"Sarah, now!" He called.

What? The runt?

"What're yo-" I was cut off by that runt hitting my head.

"Ow! The shell?!" I said, my head in pain.

She then hit my head again.

"Agh! Stop that!" I was getting angry now.

"T-That was supposed to knock you out." She said.

"Well, you're bad at it!" I pointed out.

"Well, knocking her out is out of the question." Her brother concluded as he pulled me up, still with an arm behind my back. "You're coming with us."

They then forced me to the kettle's entrance.

"Sharp, you mute bastard! Stop being useless and help me!" I called out to no avail.

(Back In Octo Canyon…Sarah's POV)

We got back to the outside of Slimeskin Garrison where Marie was waiting for us. Cass was still flipping out as we tied her up. Otis then removed her goggles.

"Let me go!" Cass yelled.

"Not until after you tell us what we want to know." Marie asserted.

"Make me!" Cass shot back.

"Alright then," Marie pulled out a tablet. "Let me just pull out my top secret Octarian Dossier and see what juicy secrets I can find on your file."

"Y-you're bluffing!" Cass assumed.

"Apparently you were put on a Sector Commander's personal squad almost two years ago. Impressive." She read off the file. "That would explain why you keep getting these Zapfish assignments despite constantly failing."

Sh-Shut up!" Cass shouted.

"Now, I think it's time you answered some questions." Marie started.

"What could you possibly ask me?" Cass asked.

"First of all, what's Octavio up to?" Marie asked.

"Go splat yourself!" Cass spat.

"Apparently these past few days weren't your first time failing to guard Zapfish…" Marie read some more. "You also struggled to advance due to a lack in combat skills."

"Stop it!" Cass hissed.

"Oooo…" Marie continued. "Apparently your crush during basic training was-"

"Alright, Alright!" Cass gave up. "What do you want?"

Cass seemed dead inside.

"As I said, what's Octavio been up to?" Marie repeated.

"He's…planning to attack your city." Cass said.

"We knew that." Marie pointed out. "What else?"

"I'm not exactly sure since he's been spending most of his time prepping for his next concert." Cass explained.

"Concert?" I asked.

"Yeah, their leader is also a DJ." Marie explained. "He's obsessed with music and wasabi."

Weird.

"Yeah, and he's really going all out." Cass continued. "He rebuilt the Octobot King, got a co-star, set up a stadium for it, and stole some statues and road pavement for the stadium. He's even training some backup dancers/singers to enhance the performances (not sure why I wasn't invited though…I can sing)."

He's really obsessed with this, isn't he?

"So what happened to the other agents?" I asked.

"I don't know much." Cass replied. "Just that there's some Inkling held up somewhere in Slimeskin."

"Could be Callie." Otis Suggested.

"Or 3.5." I added.

"Can I go now?" Cass was getting impatient.

"Do you know where that Inkling might be?" Marie asked.

"Maybe," Cass said. "But there's no way you can get in without getting splatted. Elites only."

"Well, we have an Elite right here." I noted.

"Ooohh, no!" Cass got angry again. "There's no way I'm helping you get in."

"I think you agents would be surprised to hear who her crush was…" Marie grinned.

"Do you realize what they'd do to me if I helped you out?" Cass said.

"She even wrote haiku about him…" Marie continued.

"They'd probably splat me on sight!" Cass started panicking.

"Her crush during basic training waaaaaasss…" Marie was building suspense.

"Don't!" Cass begged.

"Octo Samurai!" Marie revealed. "Or as she wrote in her haiku, Octo Senpai."

Cass had her head down. She said nothing. She was dead inside. She was properly embarrassed and for once, I felt a little bad for her.

"That would explain why she asked me what happened to him first thing before mentioning the toaster." Otis pointed out.

"Okay…" We heard her say.

"What?" I asked.

"I'll help…" She said, defeated. "Just…don't read anything else on that file."

"Alright." Marie agreed, turning the tablet off. "Now how do we get into wherever that Inkling's being held?"

"L-like I said, only Elites can get in." Cass explained. "And they won't let me in if they see two Inkling agents following me."

"Maybe you can pretend you captured us." I suggested.

"That won't work." Cass said. "By now they'll have trouble believing I caught both of you myself and Sharp probably took his broken charger back to base with news that I've been captured."

"Well, then we're in a pickle." Marie sighed.

We took a minute to think about how we'd get there.

"What if…" Otis broke the silence.

"You have an idea, 4.5? Marie asked.

"It's dumb, but what if we had disguises?" He suggested.

There was a brief pause.

"That might work." Marie admitted.

"Tell me you aren't serious." Cass sighed. "You two look nothing like Octolings."

"Well, we could change our hair colors to Octoling red." I pointed out. "And if we wear some of those goggles or fancy shades, we could avoid the eye mask confusion. We'd just have to keep out distance and not draw attention."

"Well then it's settled." Marie concluded.

"Yeah!" I cheered.

"Let's do it!" Otis cheered as well.

"Uuuugghh…" Cass groaned.


	18. Chapter 18

(Cuttlefish Cabin…Otis's POV)

We took Cass back to the cabin, still tied up of course. Sarah gave Cass's goggles to Sheldon. Marie then reached into the cabin and pulled out a box. Inside were different kinds of Octoling uniforms.

"For years now, the Splatoon has been appropriating Octoling soldier uniforms and putting them on practice dummies so we know how to identify the enemy." Marie explained. "There are some here from the Great Turf War even. You may want a more recent one though.

"These…don't leave much to the imagination, do they?" I asked, holding one up and noticing it revealed quite a bit.

"Octolings tend to show off a little more skin than we do; Even the guys." Marie explained. "Not sure why."

I looked over to Sarah who was blushing a little bit while looking at the uniforms.

"You Inklings are just a bunch of prudes." Cass commented. "Now are you gonna try them on, or what?"

"I guess I'll go first." I volunteered. "Now, which one's the men's uniform?"

"Men's uniform?" Cass seemed confused. "The shell are you talking about? Fatigues are fatigues. Now quit stalling so we can get this over with."

I just grabbed one and changed in the cabin. The uniform had only one sleeve and showed off my midriff. Octolings are weird.

"Does it look right?" I asked after coming out of the cabin.

"Hmmm…" Cass's eyes moved down, and then back up. "Yeah, that's just about right."

I didn't feel comfortable at all with her around. Then Sarah walked into the cabin. After about a minute, she came back out wearing a sleeveless tank top and short shorts.

"Wow, at first I was weirded out, but this fits like a glove." She admired.

I had to cover my eyes, this was too weird. Cass saw me and started snickering.

"Now you just need the armor pieces." Marie pointed out.

"Do these actually protect you?" I asked. "Octolings seem to splat easily anyway."

"It provides some protection." Cass clarified. "But it mostly identifies which sector you serve."

"Like how?" Sarah wondered.

"Well, the Octo Valley uniform has a simple breastplate with a belt and Octoleet Goggles and Octo Canyon wears the Neo set, now with shades."

"Yours looks like an in-between of the two." I pointed out. "That sniper guy's did too."

"That's because we're from Octo Gorge." Cass explained. "I was transferred recently to help whip the troops into shape. Sharp was sent because I needed backup."

"You seem oddly comfortable telling us this." I noticed.

"I'm just telling you that to fool them, you can't look like Octo Canyon soldiers they won't recognize." She clarified. "You'll need to look like new transfers."

We nodded as we grabbed the Octo Valley armor. We turned out hair red and put on the Octoleet Goggles.

"Well, now that you look the part, would you mind untying me?" Cass was getting impatient.

"I just had Sheldon wire your goggles so we can talk to each other." Marie explained. "Now he just needs to grab some Octoshot replicas and you'll be off.

"I'll be right back!" Sheldon ran off.

"How'd I not notice him?" Cass said to herself.

After a few minutes, Sheldon returned with Octoshot replicas.

"Now that we have everything, can you UNTIE ME NOW?!" Cass's patience finally wore out.

"Alright, I'll untie you." I got right in her face as I started untying her. "But try anything, and I mean anything, and you'll be sorry. I haven't forgiven you for what you did to Sarah."

"And I'm not sorry." Her eyes narrowed. "Now let's just get this over with."

(5 minutes later…Sarah's POV)

Cass led us down one of the kettles off the path we'd usually take. As we got through, we took quick notice that the area we landed in was less floating platforms and more long hallways and corridors. As we started walking, we noticed lots of Octarians of all varieties roaming the halls. It was kind of weird being this close without them shooting at us.

"Sooo…where are we going?" I asked.

"Near the research area." Cass said. "They say Octavio's been working on a new project outside of his concert. Might be your Inkling friend."

"Captain Cassandra?" A voice called out.

We all turned to see a confused Octoling.

"We received news that you've been captured…yet here you are." The Octoling said.

"Wasn't my first time getting caught." Cass boasted. "I tricked 'em into letting me out of their sight and I escaped. I'll give you the details in my report."

"Right…and…who are these two?" She was still confused. "They look a little…off."

"New transfers from Octo Valley who need the tour." Cass lied further. "As to their looks, I think it's a new style in the valley. You know how valley kids can be."

"Yeah…" The Octoling agreed. "Well, just make sure you file that report. Sorry for bothering you."

We continued on for a few minutes before Cass stopped us.

"Alright, labs are down the hall, but they won't let us in without a good reason." Cass told us.

"So how do we get in?" I asked.

"Hold this." She pulled on one of her heir tentacles.

"Ooookay…" I grabbed the end.

Cass pulled out a knife. How long did she have that?

She lifted the knife up and cut the tentacle off.

"What now?" I asked, still holding the tentacle.

"We wait a little bit." Cass said.

"For what?" Otis asked.

Suddenly the severed tentacle started wiggling and turning red. Cass grabbed it from my hands.

*Plop*

*Plop*

Two eyes appeared on the tentacle. My and Otis's eyes widened

*Plop*

Then a mouth appeared. Our jaws dropped.

*Ploplop*

Then tiny, actually kind of adorable legs with tiny, adorable boots on them.

"Ma-ma?" The tentacle spoke.

Otis's jaw dropped.

"W-w-w-w-whaaaaat?!" I tried to keep my voice down. "What just happened?!"

"I just gave us a ticket inside the lab." Cass didn't explain. "Now follow me and look a little guilty."

We walked over to the door to the facility where two Octoling guards, one male, one female, were waiting.

"Captain Cassandra," The male one spoke. "What brings you here…umm…"

"Training accident with these rookies here." Cass lied. "They knocked one of my tentacles off and this happened. I just need to take him to the tubes and then kick the carp out of these two.

Luckily we had goggles on, or else they'd see us narrow our eyes at Cass.

"Of course you do." The guard bought that story and turned to the female. "Open the door."

The female Octoling typed in a code on a keypad and the door opened.

"Congratulations." She spoke.

"Shove it." Cass replied.

We both walked in, the door closing behind us.

"…Sooo, is that like, your kid or something?" I finally asked.

"I guess you can think of it that way." Cass blankly said. "It's just an Octotrooper. They're simple-minded drones meant to follow orders."

"Ma-ma." The tiny Octotrooper spoke.

"I'm just going to put him in a growth tube, and then we'll be on our way." She explained.

"Growth tube?" Otis asked.

"Not relevant to your mission." Cass replied.

We eventually entered a weird room filled with tons of green tubes. Most of them were had tentacles of various sizes in inside. We couldn't ask any questions since there were a lot of Octarians in the room. Then, Cass placed Tinytrooper on a circle on the floor. It opened up and Tinytrooper dropped in, then floating up in one of the tubes.

"Bye-bye." Cass waved Tinytrooper goodbye in a surprisingly pleasant manner.

Tinytrooper smiled and waved the top of his head.

We walked out of the room and we turned to Cass

"Where to now?" Otis asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Cass admitted. "I didn't actually think we'd get this far."

"You mean you have no idea where the squid's being held?!" Otis asked.

"I never said I did!" Cass shot back. "Wait…I have an idea."

She walked over to one of the science-y looking Octolings wearing a lab coat.

"Hey, nerd." She called out. The Octoling turned in response.

"Y-yes?" The Octoling doctor responded.

"I heard we've got an Inkling somewhere and I've got some new recruits who'd really like to know what one looks like before we send 'em out to fight the agents." Cass said. "Y'know where they might be?"

"I've heard of you, you know." She responded. "Since when do you care about new recruits?"

"Oh, don't be like that." Cass waved her hand. "They're just itchin' to get their hands on some Inkling scum before their first fight. I can respect that."

"You?" She questioned. "Respect?"

Cass got closer, the doctor seemed a little nervous.

"Oh, come onnn…" Casss whined. "I can be a kind person."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.

"Yess." There was a noticeable change in the tone of Cass's voice. "I can be a very kind and caring person."

"S-so what?" The doctor was getting more nervous. "I should tell you because you asked?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble…" Cass put her hands on the doctor's shoulders. "I'd be veeery grateful if you diiid..."

Oh Cod…Was Cass…flirting with her?!

"W-well, I mean…" The Doctor was shaking a bit. "I-I'm not supposed to say…"

Oh Cod…And it's working!

"I-I guess it wouldn't be too much trouble…" The Doctor gave in. "Th-the Inkling's in Sector C, Area 9, room 203."

"Aaaaww, thanks Doctor…" Cass winked and gave her a light punch on the shoulder. "I'll see ya later!"

"R-right…" The doctor was trying to hide her blushing. "I-I'll let them know you're coming."

"Thank yoooou!" Cass had a smile on her face, putting her hands in a heart shape, like a completely different person.

"Come on." Cass urged us to follow. We followed her into an elevator.

"Why do I get the feeling you've done that before?" Otis commented.

"Because I have." Cass confidently stated. "Plenty of times."

"Marie did say you were a manipulator..." I said.

"Hey, if you've got it, use it." Cass defended herself. "Now let's get you in there so you can get your Inkling friend so you can get out my life, and I can get positively plastered to help me forget this ever happened."

"You old enough to drink?" Otis raised an eyebrow.

"I'm 23." Cass responded. "Wait, how old are you two?"

"I'm 16." Otis answered.

"14." I answered.

"Of course you are…" Cass grumbled. "Let's just get this over with."


	19. Chapter 19

(Otis's POV)

We finally got off the elevator. It was another long hallway. I guess Octarian interior design consists of either large, empty domes filled with floating platforms, or large domes filled with long hallways.

Suddenly from around a corner came a familiar Octoling. One who splatted me a few times. This time, his bandanna was pulled down and his goggles were on his belt. Apparently Octoling males have slightly different eye markings than the females.

"Sharp, you're back!" Cass called out, lifting her goggles. "I see you used the workshop to put your baby back together."

He nodded and held his charger, then looked at Cass with a confused expression.

"I tricked those suckers into letting me outta sight." She boasted.

He seemed to be studying her face, occasionally looking behind her at us.

"And now I'm stuck babysitting these rookies from Octo Valley." Cass explained. "Gonna take them to get a crack at our Inkling prisoner before they fight the real thing."

He nodded and went on his way. Cass put her goggles back on and we were on our way.

"Not too much longer and we'll be there." Cass informed us.

A few minutes later and we turned down…another hallway. Thankfully, a shorter one this time. There was a door with two Octoling guards at the end.

"Captain Cassandra." One said. "We've been expecting you."

"You have?" Cass feigned ignorance.

"Indeed." The guard said. "That doctor spoke rather highly about you over the comms."

"Aaawww, she's so sweet." Cass commented.

"You may enter." She opened the door.

"Thank yooou!" Cass said, and then led us inside.

Inside was a large room with a table at the end. Someone was lying on top of it.

"There's the Inkling!" Maried voice came through our comm. "Quick, see who it is!"

Before could get closer, the doors locked behind us. Cass started backing away from us.

"Cass?" I narrowed my eyes. "What's going on?"

"Fahaha!" She laughed. "You idiots!"

"Figures she'd do this." Sara rolled her eyes.

"I gave Sharp a signal, and you morons never even noticed!" Cass bragged.

"GYAH HA HA!" Speakers came on as a voice came through. Cass stood in a salute.

"Oh no." Marie said.

"Now this was unexpected," The voice said. "But nice work, Captain."

"Who are you?" Sarah called out

"Me?" The voice started. "Why, I'm da beatmastah! The hottest wasabi Disk Jockey in the world! The name's Octavio! DJ Octavio!

"And you best bow your heads outta respect!" Cass added. "Cause he's about to turn up the heat!"

"And it'll get hot as wasabi!" Octavio continued. "When I show you my latest pet project!"

"Pet project?" Marie asked.

"I can hear ya, girl!" Octavio laughed. "And yes, for you see, I've got a new fan who just loves ma beats! He listens to them all the time!"

We could hear a faint sound coming from the table as the Inkling got up. It was an inkling boy with Purple hair and weird headphones, wait…Arnold?!

"3.5!" Marie shouted.

"Arnold?!" I shouted.

"You know him?" Sarah asked.

"Y-yeah, I've battled with him before!" I explained. "I didn't know he was involved with the Splatoon!"

"Well, consider this a happy reunion!" Cass taunted.

I shot her a look before turning my attention back to Arnold.

"G-Get away from me…" Arnold finally spoke, holding a Splattershot.

"3.5, what's going on? What did they do?" Marie sounded panicked.

"I've been using him to test out some new beats." Octavio elaborated. "Some that even Inklings can sway to."

"Marie!" Arnold shouted. "W-when I…splat…these w-worthless hipsters…I'm…c-coming…for you!"

"What?!" Marie said, shocked.

"GYA HA HA!" Octavio laughed. "I can make this fool say whatever I want!"

"Octavio," Marie got angry. "You slimy-"

"Think of it…" Octavio was getting excited. "Soon enough, I'll be able to use ma beats to sway you squiddos by the thousands. I won't even need an army to take y'all down! Things'll finally go my way! No more annoyin' agents, not more cowardly posers running from the fight, and no more worthless hipsters DITCHIN' ME 'CAUSE THEY HEARD A STUPID SONG!

He sounded really mad at that last part. Maybe Marie know more.

"Marie," I got her attention. "I think he's being controlled through those weird headphones."

"A'ight" Octavio continued. "Captain, you and Arnie here put these agents down."

An Octoshot dropped from the ceiling into Cass's hands. A twisted grin appeared on her face.

"Yes sir!" She aimed at us.

Arnold took aim as well.

We had to make due with Octoshot replicas.

"Now drop 'em like a spicy hot wasabi beat!" Octavio ended his transmission.

(The Fight…Otis's POV)

They started firing, we dodged and fired back. While Cass was as skilled as Cass usually was, her paired with someone like Arnold made the fight more challenging. Sarah went after Cass while I went after Arnold.

This wasn't good. I've splatted him more than a few times in the past, but he's splatted me more times than I can count. I dodged his shots and got in close. I kept getting hit, but I managed to grab his weapon and head-butt him. He stumbled back, but quickly regained his footing. I tried grabbing the headphones, but he smacked me away with his splattershot. Before he could turn it to fire at me, I grabbed it again and tackled him to the ground.

I tried grabbing the headphones again, but he knocked me off, jumped on me, and started punching. I kept blocking his blows as I turned to see Sarah in a similar situation to mine. Cass was yelling something to her. I turned my attention back to Arnold, who held one of his punches. Whatever they did to him, it was clear they didn't have full control. I took that opportunity to finally grab the headphones and tear them off. Arnold started holding his ears and screaming, then he fell to the ground, unconscious.

I got up to see Cass was actually winning her fistfight with Sarah. I grabbed the Octoshot replica and walked over. Any blows she was trying to make on Sarah stopped when she felt the weapon touch the back of her head. She turned to see me and then slowly got off of Sarah.

Sarah got up, grabbed her Octoshot replica, and aimed it at Cass.

"W-well, here's your Inkling friend, as p-promised…" She tried ignoring the previous events. "I guess you can go now."

I took my weapon and decked Cass in the head with it. She fell to the floor.

(The Fight…Sarah's POV)

Cass wasted no time firing at me. I was doing fairly well, but there were occasional shots from Arnold that gave Cass the advantage. It soon was a 1v1 for both of us. Otis fought Arnold while I fought Cass. Eventually we both ran out of ink and Cass threw her weapon at me. I blocked it, but while I was distracted with that, she tackled me to the ground. We then were trading blows.

"Why do you keep doing this?!" I demanded an answer. "What do you even gain at this point?!"

"You've humiliated me three times!" Cass shouted. "I won't stop till I've beaten you, captured you, and get everything I deserve!"

"Deserve what?!" I was bewildered. "Aren't you in some commander's personal squad or something?"

"Him?!" She started getting angry. "Not a day goes by where I'm not afraid he might kill me! I don't want to live like that! I want to be respected! Admired!"

Geez, what kind of life did this lady have to make her like this?

After a short while of this, she stopped and slowly got up. Otis had his weapon aimed at her head.

I got up, grabbed my Octoshot replica, and aimed it at Cass.

"W-well, here's your Inkling friend, as p-promised…" She tried ignoring the previous events. "I guess you can go now."

Otis took his weapon and smacked Cass in the head with it. It was a pretty loud smack. She fell to the floor.

(After the Fight…Sarah's POV)

"Well, what now?" I asked.

"We get Arnold out." Otis answered. "I'll carry him and the headphones for Marie to look at.

"Remember the way out?" I asked.

He took a second to think.

Get Cass back up.

I walked over to Cass and shook her a little. She wasn't getting up. Then I noticed something bad.

"Otis, I think you hit her too hard." I told him, pointing to Cass's bleeding head.

"Oh, wow." His eyes widened. "I wanted to knock her out, but I didn't mean to do that."

"Well, we can't leave her like this." I lifted her over my shoulder. She was a little heavy, but not impossible to carry.

Otis nodded in agreement and carried a now squid Arnold in one arm with the headphones on his belt.

"Marie?" Otis called in. "Any ideas on how to get out?"

"We're already looking into the dome's systems." Marie said. "We can trigger a Dome Collapse alarm. That'll unlock the doors and light a way out of here, but it may get hectic."

"Better than trying to fight our way past security." Otis replied. "Do it."

"Well, here goes…" Marie wished us luck.

Suddenly the lights cut out for a second before emergency lights turned on and an alarm sounded. The doors opened and the guards from earlier had started bolting for an exit. We followed them to where the elevators were. They took the stairs while we went in the elevator. We could at least remember the floor we came from and pressed the button.

When we got off the elevator, we could see what Marie was taking about. Tons of people were rushing to get out. We turned to see that doctor from earlier pointing people toward the exits. She then noticed us and motioned us to come over. Good thing we were still wearing our Octoling gear.

"Down that way and take two lefts, then a right!" She pointed down the hallway. "Wait, what happened?!

"Cass needs help!" I told her. "Can you take her off our hands?"

"Y-yes, of course!" She took Cass from us. "I'll make sure she's okay, you two get out!"

We nodded in agreement. I felt kind of bad for the poor doctor. Hope she doesn't feel used. She seemed nice, but at least we don't have to carry Cass anymore. Plus Cass is awful, but I'd feel bad if someone got permanent brain damage because of us.

We kept running down the hallways towards whatever looked familiar. Eventually we came upon an exit and we dived right in.

We got to the other side to see the sun shining, but then we realized we were actually in one of the Resort Domes. I guess these domes are more connected than we thought. We just went through it as normal until we got to the Kettle entrance, back to Octo Canyon.

We didn't find Callie and Cass turned on us at the last second, but we still rescued someone and stopped a crazy plan in the process. I'd say mission accomplished.


	20. Chapter 20

(Sarah's POV)

It wasn't long before we got back to Marie with Arnold in tow. We quickly up him in the Cabin. He definitely needed some rest.

"How exactly were these controlling him?" Otis wondered, looking at the headphones.

"Octavio uses mind controlling music to make Octarians do whatever he wants." Marie explained. "They maintain a degree of free will, but his music sways them to his way of thinking."

"That's horrible!" I shouted.

"It is." Marie said. "And the ones who aren't brainwashed mostly follow him either out of fear or they try to exploit the system to benefit themselves.

"He mentioned people leaving over a song?" Otis brought up.

"Yes, the Calamari Inkantation." Marie said. "That song has weird powers even I don't understand. One of its effects is it breaks Octavio's mind control. We played it during Agent 3's fight with Octavio and it freed many Octarians from Octavio's control."

"Well, that's good." I commented.

"Unfortunately, not entirely." Marie continued. "While many of those freed were able to escape, many others were captured and had hypnoshades put on them. Some straight up disappeared."

"Hypnoshades?" Otis asked. "You mean most of those Octolings we fought were brainwashed to do so?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Marie explained. "As a punishment for trying to abandon the Octarian army, they had brainwashing sunglasses put on them and put on the front lines.

Geez, the more I hear about the Octarians, the worse it gets.

"So wait, if he controlled Arnold with music, does that mean he'll control us soon?" I was getting scared.

"Well, fortunately Arnold seems to be his only Inkling musical hypnosis test subject." Marie told us. "So far, it needs to be applied directly to the ears and it doesn't even control him fully. You seemed to stop that plan at the early stages. Good work."

That calmed me down.

"Now that that's out of the way…" Marie changed the subject. "You two need to take down the Octoboss. I'll watch 3.5 in the meantime."

We both nodded.

"We'll be back before you know it, Marie!" I called out while we headed off.

"Please use the codenames!" Marie shouted.

I'll try, but no promises.

It wasn't long before we got to the boss kettle. We dived right in.

The boss room this time had some small towers. What exactly are we supposed to fighting here?

Another puddle of enemy ink with a Zapfish above it and….a rubber ducky! I want that rubber ducky!

"Hey Otis! I got his attention.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I want that rubber ducky over there!" I pointed towards it.

"Well, get the last hit and you can." He stated.

"Alright, but who gets the first hit?" I wondered.

Otis took a stance, facing me. I knew where this was going.

I took a stance too.

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

"Shoot!"

I threw scissors, Otis threw rock. I made my pouty face. He just laughed.

We jumped over there. A tentacle pulled the Zapfish under, then, NO! The rubber Ducky went under too. Suddenly, pulled by three Octocopters, the boss came out, Ducky on its head.

It was the Cleanser of Inklings: The Octo Shower!

Otis swam up the tower to use his charger on the Octocopters while I ran around with my brush to distract the Octoshower's sniper shot. After two Octocopters went down, it flew away while Otis had to dodge missiles.

I kept distracting it while Otis took the shot at the last Octocopter and the boss came crashing down. I ran up to smash the tentacle, but before I could touch it, it burst.

"What?" I was confused.

"We agreed I'd have the first shot, remember?" Otis called out.

Well, he wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

Then, four Octocopters pulled the boss back up. Time for round two.

As we repeated the same process, it pulled out a cannon that it had to manually spin.

"He has some sort of hand-crank cannon." Sheldon pointed out the obvious. "Talk about low-tech."

"Low-tech or not, make sure you don't get his by it." Marie warned.

Luckily I was too fast with a brush to get hit by that thing.

Otis splatted two Octocopters when it suddenly retreated. It turned around and revealed an ink shower and went straight for Otis. He jumped off the center tower just in time to get away.

I noticed rails near where it flew and hopped on. They took me so close to it that I splatted the last two Octocopters , jumped off, and brought my brush down on the tentacle.

Again, Octocopters came to pull the boss back up. I'm pretty sure machines can't feel emotion, but it looked mad. First thing it did was pull out a Sting Ray. As before, Otis swam up a tower and Splatted two of the Octocopters while I distracted the boss. It tried using its ink shower on Otis again, but he jumped away in time again. He actually managed to splat another Octocopter while making an 'I'm so pro' face. It was then I noticed that these Octocopters must be really strong if one can hold that huge thing. I have nothing but mad respect for them.

The Octo Shower took no more chances and unloaded everything it had. It fired several missiles, tried running over us with the ink shower, and then spun around to use the Sting Ray. Again, it flew near some rails that I gladly hopped on. I flung ink at the last Octocopter and jumped off to splat the tentacle right before Otis splatted it himself.

We jumped back as the boss exploded.

Wait, where's the…the Ducky landed in front of us.

"Yaaay!" I squealed, picking it up.

Then I remembered…

I handed it to Otis, who just put it back in my hands.

"You keep it." He said. "Rubber ducks are no fun when you only take showers."

"Yeeeeesss!" I squeezed the Ducky.

It squeaks!

Best Day Ever!

Otis grabbed the Zapfish and we were on our way.

(Back At The Cabin…)

"Good work agents." Marie complimented. "Now all that's left is Cephalon HQ."

"And once we take out Octavio, things will be better, right?" I asked.

"Unfortunately not. He's been captured before and not much has changed." Marie explained. "In fact, hypnoshade usage has actually increased while he was in captivity."

"All this because they lost the Turf War?" Otis asked. "You'd think they'd be over it by now."

"Well, losing what was left of your home on the surface isn't something one can easily forgive." Marie continued. "Also they've been experiencing an energy crisis and their underground domes are deteriorating."

"Seriously?" I asked. "Is that why they've been stealing Zapfish?"

"Partially yes, and partially to fuel weapons to get revenge." Marie explained further. "There's probably better solutions to the problem, but no one wants to talk to each other."

"Wow…" Otis said.

"Geez…" Was all I could say.

Suddenly a message played on the radio. It was hard to understand.

"Are…Uh…Are you holding the phone upside down?" Marie wondered.

"Ugh…I totally was." The voice on the other end admitted.

Suddenly Marie's eyes widened.

"CALLIE?!" She shouted.

"Um…Nope, this definitely is not Callie!" Definitely not Callie said. "So just…leave. It's dangerous here! And it's not safe at all!"

"Ummmm…Don't those mean the same thing?" Marie asked.

"WHATEVER! JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" Totally Callie snapped. "I'm not calling again!"

"W-wait! Don't go!" Marie begged before the phone on the other side slammed a couple timed before hanging up. "Callie?! CALLIE!"

"I…I can't believe it. Could Callie really be working with the Octarians?" Marie lamented. "Agents, I need your help now more than ever."

"Right!" We said in unison.

"But can we eat first?" I asked. "And maybe get a caffeinated drink or something?"

"Sarah, are you ser-" Otis was cut off by his stomach growling. "We'll just order another pizza and drinks and head off, is that okay Marie?"

"Sounds good to me." Marie agreed.

After another pizza party, we were off to Cephalon HQ

(Elsewhere…)

"Real smooth, girl." Octavio quipped. "They definitely don't know you're Callie.

"S-shut up!" Callie snapped. "I panicked, okay?"

"Sir?" An Octoling boy got his attention. "The agents are expected to arrive at Cephalon HQ soon. What should we do?"

"Hmm…" Octavio was thinking. "I got it! Squashing those agent punks'll be the perfect show for our first concert!"

"Now that's a beat I can jam to!" Callie cheered.

""B-but sir, the agents are coming this way…" The Octoling continued. "Shouldn't we, I don't know, ATTACK THEM?!"

Octavio glared at him.

"Yer showin' a lotta sass, boy." Octavio commented. "Yo shades busted or somethin'?"

"Sir, I'm just showing concern!" He defended himself.

"I said…" Octavio started playing his turntables. "Are your shades busted?"

The music flowed.

"A shot hit me in the face during practice and they're cracked…" the Octoling said before regaining his senses. "B-but that does that have to do with the ag-"

Octavio started playing a slow, menacing version of Now or Never. Callie started singing along.

"Laaaaa-lalala-la-laaaaaaaaaa!" Callie sung. "Laaaaa-lalala-la-laaaaaaaaaa!"

The Octoling head was swaying to the music.

"Now, you're gonna go to the barracks and get yo'self a new, fresh pair of shades, right?" Octavio asked.

"Yes sir…" He responded.

"Louder." Octavio ordered.

"Yes Sir!" He yelled.

"I said LOUDER!" Octavio roared.

"YES SIR!" He screamed.

"Now get outta here!" Octavio commanded.

The Octoling boy saluted, and then marched out of the room to get new shades.

"GYA HA HA HA HA!" Octavio laughed. "And that is why I. AM. THE BEST!


	21. Chapter 21

(Sarah's POV)

Oh yeah, at the bottom of the Canyon, darkness with Octarian ink below us, this place definitely looks like a 'Final Area.'

We blew through several areas, splatting Octos and collecting Zapfish all the way. I was growing concerned for Otis. He must've been bothered by the recent news. We'd just cleared the fifth area when I had to stop.

"Otis?" I said.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. "I can tell something's bothering you."

"This just doesn't make any sense." He told me. "There's no way Callie would be willingly working with Octavio. She's way too nice to do something like that."

"Maybe she isn't doing this willingly." I suggested. "We already know about the brainwashing."

"Maybe…" He said. "Yeah, that actually makes sense. Callie loves Marie. She'd never turn on her like that."

"Well then, we'll find Callie and bring her to her senses!" I said.

"Yeah!" He agreed

"She'll be reunited with her cousin, Marie!" I continued.

"Yeah!" He was getting excited.

"And she'll give a kiss to her handsome hero, Otis!" I cheered.

"Ye-whaaa?!" Otis's face went red. "S-Sarah!"

I just grinned.

"Oh, come on." I teased. "You totally have a celebrity crush!"

"I do not!" He asserted.

"Otis…" I had my arms crossed and raised an eyebrow.

"Well…maybe…" He admitted. "But they're huge celebrities. Who doesn't have a celebrity crush?"

"Eh, you're right." I agreed.

"Well, back to the topic at hand, the next kettle will be another fight with Octolings." Otis said.

"Oh, that'll be fun I'm sure." I sarcastically responded.

We dived right into the kettle.

More Octolings. With us together, we blew through several of them, retrieving every Zapfish we came across. We were on edge the whole time though. We were just waiting for Cass to jump out. We collected Zapfish after Zapfish, but still nothing. Eventually we had one left to go. I saw a familiar face guarding the Zapfish. It wasn't Cass. It was that brush-wielding Octoling from the first time.

"Hey!" I called out.

That caught her attention.

"So we meet again…" She readied her Brush.

"And I came ready this time…" I readied my Brush.

We charged at each other, trading blows. I was doing much better this time now that I had the proper weapon. It was much more even this time. She swiped, I dodged. I swiped, she dodged. Eventually, I managed to knock her down.

"I yield." She admitted defeat.

"Cass not with you?" I asked.

"No, she just told me to give you a good fight, and then give you these." She held out two letters.

Before I could thank her, a charger shot splatter her.

"Otis!" I yelled. "She gave up!"

"Sorry!" Otis yelled back, walking toward the Zapfish. "What'cha got there?"

"Two letters." I told him. "One from Cass, the other one I'm not sure."

I opened the mysterious letter first and read it. It read as follows:  
***  
Dear Octo Valley recruits,

I'm writing this letter to inform you that Captain Cassandra is currently in medical care after suffering a large concussion and brain hemorrhage, though from what, she wouldn't tell me. It's a good thing you got her to me when you did, or it's likely she would've died. Some may not appreciate the fact that you chose to save her life, but as a Doctor, I believe you did the right thing.

Sincerely, Gracie  
***  
"Oh, it's from that Doctor Cass flirted with to get info. She apparently still thinks we're Octoling recruits." I told Otis. "It's a letter thanking us for helping Cass."

"Oh, that's nice of her." Otis commented. "What's the other letter say?"

I opened the letter from Cass and read it. It read as follows:  
***  
Dear Sarah and Otis,

#$*% you.

Love, Cass  
***  
"Yeah, that sounds like something she'd write." I commented.

"What's it say?" Otis was curious.

"Cass isn't happy." I told him.

"Yeah, what else is new?" He quipped. "Why wasn't she here anyway?"

"You hit her a lot harder than we thought." I explained. "Apparently you almost killed her."

"Oh, wow…" Otis was surprised. "I didn't like her one bit, but I didn't want to kill someone."

"Well, for better or worse, she's okay." I said. "Truth be told, this mission was kinda boring without her."

"Well, at least we can get to the boss kettle without any trouble." Otis said.

"Right!" I was hyped. "Now let's go save Callie and the Zapfish!"

(Cephalon HQ…)

As soon as we got out of the kettle, a large platform holding the boss kettle rose out of the ground.

"You know they're probably expecting us, right?" Otis asked.

"Oh yeah." I replied. "Definitely."

We made our way over and dived in.

On the other side was a large stadium. The seats were filled with the largest crowd of Octarians I've ever seen. In the center was some sort of stage with someone standing in the center.

"Octo's got style, I'll give them-wait," Otis looked at the stage. "Is that Inkopolis Plaza? Did they steal the ground?!"

"Maybe they just copied it or something." I suggested. "Now come on, we've got a boss to fight!"

Otis nodded and we jumped over.

"Let's go, agents!" Marie shouted.

When we landed, we got a closer look at the figure in the middle. It was an Inkling. Otis stood still.

"Wait…Is that…?" Marie wondered. "CALLIE?!"

Callie turned around. Her outfit was pretty killer. Must've been more risqué than what she usually wears since stumbled back Otis had to look away.

"I told you to leave…" Callie told us.

"Callie…Why?" Marie sounded hearbroken

"Now you leave me no choice..." Callie struck a pose. "Prepare to be rocked!"

I sense a boss battle

"Hey, DJ!" Callie called out.

Suddenly, the stage she was on rose up, revealing a giant machine with fists piloted by what must've been DJ Octavio. We saw the great Zapfish get sucked in through the bottom. They were ready to brawl. The screens read:

*DJ Octavio feat. Callie*

*Octobot King II*

"Octavio in da houuuuuuuuse!" DJ Octavio cheered. "GYAH HA HA! I REMIXED CALLIE'S BRAIN!

Well, we saw that coming…

"Time for our first song of the night: Bomb Rush Blush!" Callie announced.

"Time to drop the beatdown!" Octavio put his hands on his turntables.

"Spin it, DJ!" Callie cheered.

A fist launched out at us, then another. I slapped at them with my Brush while Otis shot at them with his Splattershot. They got sent back, hitting the Octobot King.

"That's it agents!" Marie cheered. "Show no mercy!"

The Octobot King attacked attacked us as Callie did a song and dance at the top.

"Blushing faces covered in pink!" Callie sang as bombs flew out at us. "Rushing bombs, exploding ink!"

We dodged the bombs as the fists started spinning. We couldn't ink those, just dodge.

Otis sent another fist flying back.

"HNNNNG!" Come on, Octavio!" Callie shouted.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, CALLIE!" Marie yelled.

Then both fists were sent flying at us. Otis shot one, I slapped the other. When they hit, Octavio got knocked out of the cockpit.

"Octavio is exposed!" Marie told us. "This is your chance!"

Otis shot at Octavio and he flew back to the Octobot King.

"HMPH…" Callie was trying to compose herself.

"Callie! It's me. Your cousin Marie." Marie tried to reach her. "Try to remember!"

"DJ!" Callie struck a pose. "DROP THAT SPICY WASABI BEAT!"

"GYA HA HA! Comin' with that hotness!" Octavio responded.

"Faces blush a rush of Ink!" Callie sang as more bombs flew our way. "Bombs explode, no time to think!"

What followed was more of before. Octavio sent his fists flying, we sent them flying back, Callie sent out another bomb rush, but this time we had to dodge a shower attack too. It kept going until we knocked Octavio down again. This time I ran up and smacked him with my Brush like a baseball back into his machine.

"I'm here! Hold on!" Said Marie flying in on Sheldon's hover-truck. She took aim with a charger and blasted the shades off of Callie.

"NOOOOO! The hypnoshades!" Octavio yelled.

"YES! That was a direct hit with my special low-tide ink!" Marie cheered.

"Unnhhh…" Callie said, a bit stunned from the hit.

"Now agents! While Callie is stunned! Marie yelled to us. "Make DJ Octavio pay!"

"Gladly!" We said in unison.

It was more of before, except Marie was here singing to jog Callie's memory while Callie kept singing her song, still a bit brainwashed.

"THAT. IS. IT!" Octavio roared as he did another ink shower attack that we dodged.

"You'll have to try better than tha-" Otis was cut off when Octavio spun around mid-flight and sent a fist flying at him.

Otis was firing at the fist when it suddenly opened up and grabbed him. It raised him up and slammed him into the ground.

"Otis!" I yelled.

The gauntlet picked him back up and threw him over the side. Sheldon moved his hover-truck just in time to catch him.

"Got him!" Sheldon cheered.

"GYAH HA HA!" Octavio laughed. "Now that one's outta the way, I'll have a much easier time dealin' with you, pipsqueak!"

"No you won't!" I yelled out. "You just made me angry!"

Octavio laughed and sent both of his fists flying at me. I waved my Brush like a mad-squid, inking both enough to send them flying back, knocking him onto the stage again. I ran up and baseball-smacked him back again.

Suddenly the music stopped.

"My…My head…" Callie said.

"The low-tide ink is working!" Marie cheered. "Callie! Remember!"

Marie pulled out a boom box. Music started playing again, but different music this time.

"That heavenly melody!" Marie started.

"The one and only…" Callie continued. "I…I remember…"

"YEAH!" Callie jumped onto the hover-truck.

They started singing the Calamari Inkantation, but it was different. It was a bit…spicier.

"THE SQUID SISTERS ARE BACK!" Sheldon cheered as a drone carrying weapon case flew from the truck.

It was a Rainmaker!

"Agent 4, I brought you a modded version of the Rainmaker! Hold the trigger down to build pressure, and then release!" Sheldon told me. "All right, Agent 4. Now show me what you can do with that!"

"Rainmaker!" Octavio seemed to be a bit worried as he flew up out of range.

"Follow him, Agent 4! End this!" Marie yelled out as a launch pad appeared in the center.

I got onto the launch pad and was sent flying onto a set of rails above the stage.

Octavio sent his fists flying, but when charged, one shot was all I needed to send them flying back into his stupid face. As I fought, the music just amped me up. I could hear the crowd getting into it too. They were cheering and dancing along.

"I CAN'T…RESIST THE GROOVE…ANY LONGER!" Octavio started dancing as well. "Splat you, Squid sisterrrrrrrs!"

A couple more fists sent back and sparks flew out of the Octobot King as it spun and fell to the ground.

"Agent 4," Marie called out. "Head for Octavio from the inner ride rail!"

I knew where this was going and I've always wanted to do this since watching Rainmaker on TV. I jumped on the inner ride rail. It took me down to a spot where I jumped off toward Octavio. His squirming and expression said "no, no, no," but my face and Rainmaker said "yes, yes, yes."

I raised the rainmaker up and slammed it down on Octavio's face. He went flying to the back of his cockpit as I superjumped to the hover-truck.

"Guh…Not again…" Octavio lamented. "Cross-fade to blaaaaaaack…"

The Octobot King rose up, smoking, sparking and spinning, it finally exploded. DJ Octavio was sent flying through the air. Sheldon positioned the truck in just the right place for the DJ to fall flat on his face with a comical "Ow."

"DJ?" A still conscious Otis said.

"Yeah?" Octavio asked, still faceplanted on the truck.

"You lost." Otis told him.

"I know." Octavio admitted. "I'll get you punks next game."

(Back to Cuttlefish Cabin…)

"Well, thanks to you two, both the Great Zapfish and Callie are back, and peace has returned to Inkopolis." Marie thanked us. "That being said, no one except us knows what truly happened, so don't expect the city to throw you a parade or anything."

We nodded.

"It's like they always say," she continued. "The path of the hero is a lonely one."

"No it isn't." I pointed out. "Otis was helping me half of the time."

"Yeah," Otis agreed. "Where did you even hear that?"

"Wait…They don't say that?!" Marie was shocked. "But 'they' say all sorts of things!"

We had no idea who "they" even were.

"Well…whatever." Marie said. "I was able to confine DJ Octavio in this snow globe. I'm keeping an eye on him to make sure he stays out of trouble."

We saw Octavio in the snow globe, looking none-too-happy.

"I'm gonna slow roast him until Grandpa-I mean…uh…Until the leader of the New Squidbeak Splatoon comes back." Marie said.

"LET ME OUTTA HERE!" Octavio yelled. "I'M STARVING!"

"Only if you behave yourself!" I called out.

"NEVER!" Octavio spat.

"Bahaha!" Marie laughed. "Love it"

"Same here." Otis agreed.

"Anyway, you've really impressed me." Marie admitted. "I can't thank you enough."

"You're welcome." We said in unison.

"Okay, how do you do that?" Marie seemed a little afraid of us.

"Not sure." I answered. "We just do that sometimes."

"So…where'd Callie go anyway?" Otis asked.

"She went to tell everyone that she was okay." Marie told him. "She'll be back sometime soon. Why do you ask?"

"Uh…just concerned." Otis responded. "Brainwashing and stuff y'know"

"Riiiiiiiight." Marie grinned. She could see what was going on as much as I could. "Well, I'm going to watch over 3.5 until the lazy squid wakes up. You two should get some rest too. You've had a long day."

We nodded in agreement.

"Until then…" She struck a pose. "Stay Fresh!"

We waved her goodbye as we grabbed our stuff and went back to Inkopolis.

(Inkopolis Square...)

Wow. I actually haven't been here since my second day on the Splatoon job. It was night time and no Splatfest was going on yet, so it was fairly empty with the exception of a few Jellies out. Otis and I walked all the way to Flounder heights to the third floor apartments.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Otis." I said.

"Yeah. Goodnight Sarah." Otis hugged me.

We turned and walked to our apartments. To our surprise, we only lived about six doors from each other. We laughed when we noticed and went in our apartments.

I looked at the clock. 11:25. I took my Hero jacket off and noticed…I kinds stank…Well, looks like you'll get some use Rubber Ducky. I squeaked it before heading into the bathroom.

After getting out of the tub, I got ready for bed. After today, I could use some sleep. Man, the bed here is much more comfy than the one in the Cabin. It wasn't long before I dozed off.


	22. Epilogue

(The next Day…)

Marie heard her phone ringing.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Marie!" It was Sarah. She sounded panicked.

"Oh, Agent 4, what is it?" Marie wondered.

"There are Octolings outside!" She almost shouted. "Are we being invaded?! Don't worry; I'll splat as many as I can before going down!"

"W-wait, wait! Sarah, it's Okay!" Marie stopped her from doing something stupid. "They're friendly."

"Th-They are?" Sarah was confused.

"Yes, they're just Octolings who've heard the Inkantation." Marie assured her. "They've just come to live here, turf, and make friends like everybody else."

"F-friends?" Sarah's tone changed. "…You think they'll want to be friends with me?"

"I'm certain they will." Marie reassured her. "Now put down whatever weapon you've picked up and come over. Callie's back and Arnold's woken up. They'd like to thank you and Otis."

"Alright, we'll be there!" Sarah said. "I'll go get Otis!"

Sarah knocked on Otis's door. After a few seconds, he came to the door.

"Hey, Sarah." Otis greeted her. "What's going on?"

"Marie wants us back at the Cabin!" She told him. "Also there are Octolings in Inkopolis now!"

"Yeah, I know." Otis said. "I found out after my first day on the job. I asked one with a weird afro about it."

"Well, come on then!" Sarah urged.

"I'll catch up!" Otis yelled to her. "I just woke up!"

(At the Cabin…)

Marie was standing in her usual spot. Callie and Arnold were on the bench.

"Ah, you're back." Marie said.

"Oh! Uh, hey, Agent 4…It's Callie…Remember? I tried to kill you?" Callie said.

Sarah nodded.

"Yeah…Sorry about that." Callie apologized. "But I'm back on the up and up! Promise!"

"Me too." Arnold finally spoke after sipping some coffee. "Cod, my ears hurt…"

"In any case…The Squid Sisters and the NSS are ready to roll!" Callie cheered.

"I gotta hang out here until Gramps and Agent 3 come back from…whatever it is they're doing." Marie explained. "Seriously, where did Gramps wander off to…?"

"Well, at least you'll have help." Arnold said.

"Yeah, because you were much help…" Marie commented. "Especially when on guard duty."

"I dozed off for a minute!" Arnold defended himself.

"So anyway, where's your brother?" Marie asked. "Is he coming?"

"Yeah, he'll be here soon." Sarah said. "I'm sure he can't wait to properly meet Callie."

"Oh, really?" Callie asked. "He a fan?"

"Oh, let me tell you…" Sarah started.

(A Few minutes later…)

Otis finally came. The others were waiting for him.

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Otis apologized. "Sarah just woke me up and I had to scratch Li'l Judd's ears..."

"Heya, 4.5!" Callie waved.

"Sup." Marie waved too.

Otis waved back, then turned to Arnold.

"Hey, Arnold. How're ya holdin' up?" He asked.

"Well, I'm tired, still a bit hungry, bruised up from Octarian captivity, and my ears have a painful ringing in them," Arnold told him. "But other than that, I'm fine."

"Well, that's good to know." He turned to Callie. "So how about you? It's good to see the Squid Sisters back together."

"Yayer!" Callie cheered. "So you must be Otis, huh? Sarah told us all about you!"

"Really?" Otis asked. "What…did she say?"

"That you've been a fan since back when we did the news." Marie responded. "So, whose team were you on that last Splatfest?"

They both leaned in, awaiting his answer.

"I was on Team Callie." Otis answered.

"Ooooh, bad choice…" Marie quipped.

Callie and Otis shot her a look.

"Why my team?" Callie asked.

"W-well, I always thought you were the best." He tried keeping his cool. "I just liked your personality more."

"I mean, last Splatfest said I wasn't the best…" Callie mentioned.

"Eh, I never cared about Splatfest results." Otis shrugged.

"Really?" Callie was intrigued.

"Heresy!" Marie jokingly pointed an accusing finger.

"Eh, I just stick to what I like and I don't really care what other people think." He shrugged again.

"Does that mean you like…me?" Callie asked in the most innocent way possible.

"Uh…well-I, umm…" Otis wasn't sure how to answer.

Suddenly Sheldon came through the entrance. "Greetings, agents!"

"Oh, hey! Sheldon! How're ya doing?!" Otis dodged Callie's question.

"Haha, I like him already!" Callie laughed.

"Hey, Otis!" Sarah called.

"Yeah?" Otis turned to her.

"Now that we have the time, we should do some ink battles together!" Sarah urged.

"Yeah, 'bout time I watch ya level up." Otis agreed.

"Why don't you two go play some matched and we'll meet up again later?" Marie suggested.

"Okay!" The siblings said in unison.

"Oh, let's get pizza to celebrate a job well-done!" Callie cheered.

Marie, Sarah, and Otis groaned at that suggestion.

"Why? What's wrong?" Callie was confused.

"We've had pizza the past three days." Sarah explained. "I think we're ready for something else."

"…How about Sushi?" Callie suggested.

"That sounds good." Otis agreed.

"Then it's settled." Marie said. "Have fun and Stay Fresh!"

She and Callie struck their iconic pose as the siblings waved them goodbye.

"…Can I get some sushi too?" Octavio asked.

"Why should you get anything?" Arnold asked back.

"…I'll bring wasabi." Octavio said, holding one of his wasabi sticks up.

"…Maybe…" Marie told him. "As long as you don't cause a fuss…"

Sarah and Otis then played Turs Wars together until Sarah got to level 10, and then spent half the day splaying ranked battles before returning to celebrate their victory. They chatted a lot and shared many laughs. Sarah and Otis were confused as to why Octavio got some food as well, but they shrugged it off. Sarah had fun. Otis, not as much as he was distraught to find out Agent 3 was apparently someone he knew for less than satisfactory reasons. What didn't help was Callie purposefully making him feel nervous throughout the entire party.

Eventually it started getting late and they all waved each other goodbye. Tomorrow was a new day, full of new adventures for our heroes.


	23. Bonus

(Flounder Heights…Sarah's POV)

Been a few days…Money's low, rent is needed soon, and Grizzco's not open. I didn't think this apartment complex choice through. I sent out ads for a roommate to help pay the rent. That guest room could have some use after all. For now, I'm just sitting here, waiting for someone to call or show up at the door. I won't take just anyone though. I need to be able to tolerate the person so we don't end up killing each other.

I'm playing with my phone when I hear a sound come from my closet. I open it up to see it's from my Octoleet goggles. I put them on and hear Cass's voice. She's talking to someone. Wait, did she forget we hijacked her comms? Well, I guess she had too much going on to notice. It seems she just started a conversation.

"So, how's the head?" A male voice on the other side.

"Splat off." Cass blankly said. She must be talking to her squad.

"I mean, I can't believe you almost died just like that." He added. "And where were you when it happened, Sharp?"

"I can't believe you had Gracie patch you up." A female voice whined. "I'm much more qualified than her and I would've looooved to get inside your head."

"Babe," The male voice continued. "While I'm sure she'd appreciate the fix-up, I don't think she'd like you poking and prodding at her noggin as you pleased."

"You guys never let me have fun." She whined.

"Well, I'm sorry being unconscious and dying caused me to take whatever doctor I could!" Cass sarcastically replied.

"So how'd the date go, anyway?" The male voice asked.

"Eh, it was a nice meal, but we both figured it wouldn't go anywhere." Cass told him. "She says she still wants to be friends though."

So she follows up her flirting…

"With you? That'll last long, I'm sure." The male voice quipped.

"Hey, If I wanted sass, I'd-"

"That's enough you two." Another, more commanding voice stopped them. I'm guessing this was the Commander guy Cass served.

"S-sorry sir." Cass apologized. She seemed a bit scared.

"No need to apologize." The Commander calmly said. "Though your mission technically failed, we have a significant amount of information in regards to Cuttlefish's new recruits and can plan for that. Good work, Cassandra."

"Th-thanks?" Cass replied. "B-but we're still out of Zapfish…"

"There are other ways to obtain Zapfish." He continued. "In the meantime, we'll just keep watch on the Splatoon from a distance. Cassandra, you may have three days of leave to heal your injury."

"Th-thank you, Sir." I could hear Cass's footsteps leaving the room. "Now to get hammered…"

I took the goggles off and flipped the comms switch on the back off. This could be useful. I should get these to Marie.

That thought was cut off by a knocking on the door. I walked over and opened it.

Huh, it's an Octoling. My eyes widened.

He was kinda pale

He had grey eyes…or were they silver…?

He looked at me and smiled…Woah…

"Why, hello there." He took a slight bow. "I was looking for a place to stay and I saw your delightful ad."

"Uh…yeah." I said. "You got the rent share? I said up-front."

"Right here!" He pulled out the money right there. "All for you…"

"A-All right, you may come in." I told him. "But I need to make sure we can get along if we're both gonna stay here."

"Oh, I'm certain we'll get along just well." He assured me. "It's not like me to treat a lady wrong."

Wait, what'd he mean by that? I mean, that's good to know, but is he flirting or something? I mean, I wouldn't mind, but…

"W-well, come in then, make yourself at home." I told him. "Your room is on the left."

"Why, thank you very much." He let himself in.

I just let him in like that. I should've tested him first; some hazing at the very least. What's wrong with me?!

…Well…at least he's easy on the eyes…

…Oh Cod…


End file.
